Holding Hands
by Irritus185
Summary: COMPLETED! Keitaro had to hold hands with one of them. Naru or Mutsumi. But what if the conflict wasn't ended as it usually was? OOC-ness.
1. Chapter 1: Decisions

A/N: Hey people. This is my very first fanfiction. I just recently started to read and now I'm totally hooked on them. I just can't seem to tear away from them. I love it. Anyway, hope you enjoy this one. 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**Holding Hands **

By Yamiga'sLight 

Chapter 1: Decisions 

"..." – talking '...' – thinking 

It was a cold evening. Snow fluttered down slowly as it covered the ground below it. Three dark figures were seen ascending a large stone staircase that lead to a giant house that loomed over them in both a foreboding and welcoming way. 

The three seemed to be holding hands. The one on the right was an auburn beauty who had a sad, yet hopeful look on her face. The one on the left was a gorgeous black-hair girl who seemed to radiate a vast amount of energy in the way she walked, almost like skipping, despite the fraility of her body. The person in the middle was a short-brown-haired man who looked like he would rather be anywhere else other than that place at that moment. 

Finally, the man spoke. "Just...three more steps," he said in a hushed voice. 

The auburn girl silently thought to herself as hey started to finish the rest of the staircase. 'I guess this is the end for me and Keitaro...' 

"Two more..." 

'...I'll miss being able to talk to him like we used to.' 

"And...the moment of truth." 

The girl closed her eyes for the imminent doom. 'Keitaro...goodbye.' 

She felt the man slowly take his hand out of hers. Her heart then shattered, and she turned away, trying to hid the tears that were threatening to escape from her eyes. 

She then heard Mutsumi's voice. "Urashima, where are you going?" She said in a worried and concerned tone. Naru whipped around to see Keitaro's retreating back heading down the stairs. 

"Keitaro..." Naru called out. 

Keitaro turned around and looked at her. "Yes, Naru?" 

Naru's face held both confusion and sadness. "You let go of both of our hands" 

Keitaro nodded his head. "Yeah." 

"But why..." 

"Why didn't I hold either of your hands?" He interrupted. 

"Yes." 

Keitaro looked down, smiled sadly, and let out a little chuckle. "Truly, I don't know. Maybe because I'm indecisive. Maybe I'm just an idiot. But mostly, I guess it's because of you guys." 

Naru looked even more confused. "Me and Mutsumi?" 

"Why because of us, Urashima?" Mutsumi said. Her face had lost the amused look, and was replaced with a more worried one. 

"I guess because I thought that at least one of you would be by my actions." He looked up with an amused look on his face. "I know how corny that sounds, but that's how I feel. You're both beautiful, smart girls. I like a lot of things about both of you, and I'm sure I would be happy either way." His face then gathered up in pain. 

"But I would still make you sad, even if it was in the smallest way. The same goes for everyone else at Hinata House. Shinobu, Su, Motoko, Kitsune, and even Sarah. I would rather slit my wrists then hurt or make any of you sad intentionally." His face lost the pain and regained the amused look. He laughed. 

"Besides, look at me!" He spun around on his heel and looked at them playfully. "I am Keitaro Urashima. A third year ronin. The most perverted and losery man on the face of the Earth. I've never even had a girlfriend. Now you expect me to choose between two women who are like goddesses to me. My brain has been on the verge of a breakdown for the past ten minutes!" 

His face regained the serious look rather quickly. "In any case, I've got to think over a few things. So...see you guys later." He turned around and started to walk down the stairs before he stopped. "Oh, yeah," he said over his shoulder. "You mind if I borrow Liddo-kun for a while?" Naru and Mutsumi nodded their heads in unison. "Thanks." He patted the stuffed animal's head fondly. "C'mon, buddy. I need to talk to you." He joked. 

As he continued, Naru was the first to come out of her daze. "Keitaro, wait!" She shouted as she leapt down to grab his shoulder. She was rewarded with Keitaro's hand on hers. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and her heart skipped a beat. Keitaro turned around and gave her a quick smile. 

"Naru...I'm not goinf to run away. I just need to be alone for a little while." He dropped her hand gently and jerked his head in the direction of Hinata House. "Besides, I'm sure everyone must be worried about you. No doubt you and Mutsumi will be the life of the party." 

He flashed another smile at both Naru and Mutsumi. "Well, I'll see guys later." He walked off, and it wasn't long before his form melted with the falling snow. 

Naru and Mutsumi stood in an awkward silence. Mutsumi tried a nervous, smile but it was quickly deflated. It was obvious neither her ot or Naru were in the mood for such things. Naru turned around and silently made her way back to the dormitory. Mutsumi came quickly in step and followed Naru. 

When they got near the entrance, the double doors were flung open as the rest of the Hinata House tenants filed out. Kitsune caught eye of the duo and let out a mischievous grin. "We were wondering where you were." She said. 

"It's the turtle girl too!" Yelled Su happily. 

"So it is. Hello, Mutsumi." Motoko bowed formally. 

"Hello, Motoko." Mutsumi replied. 

Kitsune then noticed what Naru was wearing. "Say, Naru, that's a nice coat you have. Who got it for you? Keitaro?" She grinned. 

"Speaking of which, where is sempai?" Shinobu asked meekly as she peeked over Kitsune's shoulder. "I don't see him anywhere." 

"Keitaro is..." Naru started, but she just trailed off as she fiddled with her coat. 

"Urashima is somewhere else. Unfortunately we don't know where exactly he is at the moment though." Mutsumi finished for her. 

"Did that coward run away again?" Motoko growled. "I swear that Urashima is no man at all, he..." 

"Oh, Motoko, be quiet for a second," Kitsune interrupted. She changed her attention back to Naru. "Why did he go off this time?" 

"He said he need to think a little while about things." Naru muttered as she continued to stare at the ground. 

"Did Urashima do something to offend you Naru? Because if he did, I would be glad to avenge your honor." Motoko said as she suggestively moved her katana. 

"No, Motoko." Motoko was surprised to hear the edge in Naru's voice. Naru lifted her head and there were tears in her eyes. They were not tears of hate and anger, but tears of shame and self-loathing instead. 

"For once, Keitaro was not at fault. And I'm beginning to suspect that all of the other times were not his fault as well, but rather our hasty and conclusive behavior." 

"N-N-Naru...?" Motoko questioned, shocked. If she had suspected anyone to take Keitaro's side in an argument, her last would have definitely been Naru. 

Naru shook her head. "Forget it, Motoko. I'm sorry. Let's forget about Keitaro and continue with our party. After all..." She let out a little smirk. "He is just a pervert." Naru then briskly made her way through the others and into Hinata House. 

The rest of the boarders turned their attention to Mutsumi. She shook her head and put her hand to it in an innocent gesture. "Oh my,' she murmured. "Don't look at me. I'm just as confused as you are." 

Everyone just sighed, and one by one, they slowly made their way back into Hinata House to continue their party. 

***** 

Keitaro slowly made his way down the path. He knew exactly where he was going. He looked up at the starry sky while watching the snow fall gently onto his face where it melted. He craned his neck over his shoulder to look at the stuffed animal strapped to his back. "So, buddy," he started. "Want to talk about anything in particular?" 

Liddo-kun remained silent. 

Keitaro chuckled. "I thought as much." 

He eventually made his way to his destination. His childhood playground. The place where he made that childhood promise fifteen – or was it sixteen? – years ago with that little girl of his memories. 

He sighed. That promise had caused him so much happiness and yet so much grief at the same time. Keitaro sometimes wondered if that promise was a blessin, or a curse. He sighed again as he headed to the sandbox. 

Keitaro lowered himself down, not bothering to ract to the cold snow that soaked through his jeans. He reached behind him as he pulled out Liddo-kun to look at him. This strange creature looked like a mouse, squirrel, and rabbit hybrid. Keitaro couldn't help but laugh as he stared at this too cute animal. 

"Oh, Liddo-kun, buddy," Keitaro smirked. "If only you could talk, then maybe you could tell me about that day and who I made that promise to. Everthing points to Mutsumi, but there's still the question of how Naru got you in the first place. I am sooo confused." He chuckled as he playfully noogied the toy's head with his face. 

For some unknown reason, Keitaro had a sudden urge to play in the sand. He carefully put Liddo-kun down and leaned over to gather the snow and sand in his hands. He then began to meticulously take the mess of earth and put it in a pile, carefully forming it with his hands. "It's just like before," he thought as his mind wandered to earlier years. 

_********************Flashback******************** _

Two little children were playing in the sandbox as a stuffed animal seemingly stood guard over them in the corner. The little girl stopped to wipe her hands on her clothing before talking to the boy. 

"Did you know," she said. "That if two people who love each other go to Tokyo University together, they'll live happily ever after?" 

The little boy stopped long enough to look at the girl and smile quizzically. "Really?" He asked. 

The little girl closer before responding, "When we grow up, let's go to Tokyo University together. Okay, Kei?" Before the boy could reply, the girl took his face into her hands, and gently planted a kiss on his cheek. 

"O-okay!" The little boy stuttered. The little girl smile and laughed. 

********************End Flashback******************** 

Back in the present, Keitaro sighed. "Sometimes I really wonder about that day." He then grinned as he remembered why he was there in the first place. 

'I was right,' he thought. "I am Keitaro Urashima. The man who was at the bottom of the grade last year. The man with no girlfriend for the last twenty years. The man who's photo book is filled with almost nothing but pictures of himself.' He laughed, and again, and again, and again. 

"I can't believe Naru actually expected me to choose between her and Mutsumi. In case she hasn't noticed, I'm a total retard when it comes to girls. Oh well..." 

He chuckled again before letting out a gigantic sneeze. He finally realized how cold it was outside. 'Better get home before I die of hypothermia,' he thought. He picked up Liddo-kun and stuffed him back into his pack. "C'mon, Liddo-kun buddy, time to go home." 

***** 

As Keitaro finally made it back to Hinata House, he noticed the lights were still on. He wondred if everyone was still awake. He checked his watch. It was after midnight. Keitaro silently crept to one of the windows to check inside. Everyone was either asleep or passed out. 

Keitaro let out a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to face their wrath till morning. He snuck back to the door, slowly opened it, and went in. He looked around and saw almost everybody in a somewhat awkward position. 

"Oh come one everybody. You're going to catch a cold like that." He then sneezed, and he chuckled. "Not like I can give advice. I was outside for a while." 

"Myuh!" 

Keitaro looked around startled. He then noticed Tama-chan, the residential flying turtle. "Oh, hey Tama-chan." 

"Myuh!" She said in reply. 

"You were able to keep to keep conscious?" Keitaro joked. 

"Myuh..." Tama-chan sweatdropped. 

"That big of a party, huh?" 

"Myuh." 

"Okay," Keitaro nodded. "I need you to keep quiet while I bundle the girls up to make sure they don't catch cold. Can you do that for me?" 

"Myuh," Tama-chan said quietly as she saluted him. 

"Thanks." Keitaro made his way to the closet to pull out some blankets to wrap the girls in. 

The easiest were Motoko, Su, and Sarah. They were sleeping on the couch with Su wrapped around Motoko's arm and Sarah leaning on Su drooling. Keitaro smiled as he carefully put the blanket around them, tucking in the corners to conserve heat. 

Kitsune was in disgrace. She was lying on the floor passed out. As Keitaro approached, he made a mental note to not let her near the booze for the next few parties. He grabbed a pillow from the couch and carefully lifted her head to slide the pillow underneath. He then slowly moved her limbs to keep them from going numb before covering her with a blanket. 

Haruka and Mutsumi were sitting in different chairs. Keitaro made sure to cover as much of their bodies as he could with the blankets. 

Last came Naru and Shinobu. They were on the other couch with Shinobu's head on Naru's lap. Keitaro smiled again as he covered them with the blanket. 

He then took Liddo-kun out of his pack and placed him on the table. After a moment's consideration, he took out some paper and wrote a note, placing it next to the stuffed toy. 

Keitaro then walked up to the light switch and flicked it off. Before going up the stairs, he turned to the women located in the room. "Good night girls," he murmured. "Merry Christmas." He then walked up the stairs and out of sight. 

A pair of eyes opened as he left and looked forlornly after him. "Merry Christmas, Keitaro." She whispered as she fell back asleep. 

***** 

Keitaro eventually made it to the manager's room. He walked in and quietly closed the door behind him. He didn't even bother to change out of his wet clothes as he climbed into his futon. When he did, he let out another giant sneeze and a long series of coughs. 

When he finally stopped, he muttered to himself, "I hope I'm not coming down with something." Then he quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

A/N: Wow. My first fanfiction. I'm so proud of myself. Took me a long time coz I don't write too fast. I got some others I'm working on, but this took top priority. I love Love Hina. Ha! Anyway, time to talk with the characters. 

Keitaro: Thank you! For once I didn't get beat up! _(pumps fist into air) _

Me: Don't worry, this isn't one of those of those fics. Character bashings isn't my style. 

Naru: _(stomps into area)_ You jerk! I can't believe you made me look weak! I looked like a sissy! 

Me: I said there was OOC-ness in this fic! Besides, that's only the beginning. Wait till you see the next chapter. 

Naru: Oh, really? _(cracks knuckles)_

Me: Heh, heh... _(gulp)_ You wouldn't think of beating the author, would you? 

Naru: Try me. 

Me: Sorry Keitaro. 

Keitaro: For what? 

Me: For this. _(whistles) _

Su and Motoko come onto the scene. Su kicks Keitaro in the head. Keitaro crashes into Naru, knocking them over with Keitaro on top. 

Keitaro: Oh, crap. 

Naru and Motoko: PERVERT!!!!! _(commence in beating Keitaro into a bloody pulp)_

Me: I don't like character bashing, but it does get me out of tight situations. _(leans over to Su)_ Think I went too far this time? 

Su: Nah. Keitaro's superman! _(latches onto my arm)_

Me: _(glances at Su nervously)_ Right. Anyway I want to introduce my editor who helped me with my proofreading. He was really helpful. I give you, gloworm16! 

gloworm16: Damn it, Yamiga! Why'd you have use my name, jackass?! Now I'm going to have people spamming me all the time! _(steam pours out ears)_

Me: _(waves hands in front of face)_ Glowy, that's not going to happen! 

gloworm16: Don't call me Glowy, you whore! I sound like a prick! 

Me: Dude, you can't curse on the internet! 

_Everyone around does a massive facefault. Even the girls stop their thrashing on Keitaro long enough to fall. I sweatdrop at my own stupid statement._

Me: That didn't make much sense... 

gloworm16: Of course it didn't you mother- 

Me: Okay, I don't care if you can curse. You're not going to curse in my fic! _(snap fingers)_ Su, dear! 

Su: Right, Yamiga! _(pulls giant laser out of her pocket and points it at gloworm16)_

Me: _(mouth agape)_ Where do you keep that thing? 

Su: It's a secret. _(wink)_

Me: Right... Glowy? 

gloworm16: I'll be good. 

Me: Good boy! Anyway that's the end of my chat. _(turns to Su)_ Thanks Su. 

Su: You're welcome! _(glint)_

Me: What Su? 

Su: This! _(tackles me to floor and starts to squeeze)_

Me: Gack! Can't...breathe... 

Su: Please Review! _(squeezes even harder)_

Me: Uhhhhnnn.... _(passes out from lack of air)_

A/N: Ugh... Man, Su squeezes hard. Anyway, it's gonna take me a couple days before I can update the next one. But before that happens, I want to see if I can get any reviews. I was hoping to get at least four, but I'll be happy if I get any. Just no flames, okay? Being a pyro, I know that fire really hurts when it's used on people. Well see you next time! 


	2. Chapter 2: Sickness

A/N: Oh my God! Only one day and I already have five reviews! Thank you so much! I'm so happy! Anyway, I'd like to have a special thanks for each of them. Thank you! 

**Lighthawknight:** yeah I know he's mature, but that was the entire point. I decided to fastfoward everyone's personalities to the much later volumes of LH because they aren't the childish kids they once were 

**WAFFaddict:** thank you for saying such a nice thing and yeah I really liked this part of LH because it's a small look of what will happen later on in the story 

**jenniviennai:** yeah I have spelling errors but I'M A JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL SO WHAT DO YOU EXPECT!!! Just kidding. And Naru may not admit to being a psycho, but Keitaro might... oops, might have said too much, heh 

**Baka-Alaskan:** thank you for your kind words, but I'm sure that your first fic is good too. I'll try to look it up 

**Turtle Lady:** thank you for loving it, I like OOC-ness though, I get sort of tired of Keitaro's wimpy attitude and Naru's continuous bashings 

Anyway, thank you all! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**Holding Hands **

By Yamiga'sLight 

Chapter 2: Sickness 

"..." – talking '...' – thinking 

Christmas morning came quietly. The sun rose over the horizon, and its rays slowly shone through the windows of Hinata House, kissing each of the girls' faces with its golden light. One by one, each of them woke up. 

"Whazat?" Kitsune mumbled sleepily as she yawned and stretched her tired limbs. "Man, that was some party last night. Too bad that Keitaro didn't come back. I wanted to play with him some more. Speaking of Keitaro, I wonder where if he ever did come back." 

She then finally noticed the heavy blanket she was under that was keeping her warm and toasty. Confused, she looked around to see that everybody more or less also had a blanket covering them. "Hey guys," she called out softly. "Wake up. It's morning." 

That was enough to raise them out of their half-slumber states. Each of their eyes snapped open. "What is it, Kitsune?" Motoko asked. 

"Yeah, why'd you wake us up?" Su whined. "I was dreaming I had a lifetime supply of bananas." 

"That's all you ever dream about." Sarah said as she lightly punched her arm. 

"That's not true," Su replied indignantly. "I dream about messing with Keitaro too." 

"I seriously did not need to know that." 

"Quiet, you two and listen up." Kitsune snapped. "Look around at each other." 

At her prompting, everyone looked around and noticed the blankets covering them. "I wonder who did this?" Inquired Shinobu. 

"It was probably Keitaro." Kitsune answered. 

"That pervert..." Motoko muttered. "He probably tried to do something to us while we were asleep." 

"I'm not so sure, Motoko." Haruka said. "The way Kitsune fell asleep was not exactly conservative." 

"That's right," Kitsune continued. "If he was going to try anything on anybody, he'd probably do it to me because I wouldn't of looked much different afterwards. But not only are my limbs in the proper positions, he was also generous enough to give me a cushion." She gestured at her headrest. "I would have been plenty sore otherwise." 

"Also, take a look on how he bundled us up. He obviously put a lot of care into it." 

Motoko looked down. She was right. The blanket was tucked gently around her avoiding any of her 'sensitive' areas. She gulped at how easily Keitaro could have groped her without her realizing it. 

"If you ask me, Urashima acted quite chivalrous towards all of us." Mutsumi said in a lilt tone of voice. 

"Hear, hear!" Su and Sarah shouted in unison. 

"And for that chivalrous action..." Su started. 

"We're going to reward that dork!" Sarah finished. 

The two then jumped to their feet and rushed upstairs. Haruka let out a small laugh. "It seems my nephew is about to receive a rude wake-up call." The others merely giggled at this gross understatement. 

Naru then noticed Liddo-kun on the table. She let out a small squeal and quickly grabbed it, clutching it to her chest. But Mutsumi was the one to notice the note. She picked it up, read it over, and motioned for Naru to come over too. 

When Naru did so, they both read it together. 

*Considering I don't know who this belongs to anymore, I'll let you two battle it out. Good luck!* 

Keitaro 

The two looked at each other. They knew he wasn't just talking about the doll. 

***** 

Meanwhile, Keitaro was waking up too. Unfortunately for him, he didn't wake up so soundly. When he did, he felt like his body had just been done over by a bunch of gremlins armed with sledgehammers. 

His whole body ached. Every moment he made resulted in a numbing pain. I felt like someone had stuck a roto-rooter down his throat, and shoved radioactive waste into his stomach. He didn't feel like crap, he felt like he was being made into it. 

'Great,' he thought bitterly. 'Not only do I have that problem from last night, I get sick on Christmas morning too." 

His mind then started to wander. What was that law on bad luck? Ah yes, Gunderson's Law. If anything bad could happen, it will, and at the worst possible moment. It seemed that God in all his loving care of Earth decided he was bored and that he wanted to spice things up a bit. 

So he made the human equivalent of Gunderson's Law, Keitaro Urashima. The man, who at every possible waking (and sometimes unwaking) moment, had something horrible happened to him. Luckily, God made it up to him by adding immortality to his lists of pluses. 

Keitaro's mind snapped back into reality when he heard a rumbling from behind his door that connected to the hall. It seemed an extension of Gunderson's Law was about to come crashing through it. 

It did, in the forms of hyperactive Su and capricious Sarah, the terrible duo. They were joined in a high-jump kick, but luckily for Keitaro, Su noticed how bad he looked before connecting with his cranium. 

Before her foot made contact, she grabbed Sarah and landed a gentle faceplant on Keitaro before flipping off of him, thus defying all laws of physics in this mortal realm. When her foot touched Keitaro, she was shocked to feel how hot he was. He felt like an inferno! 

After, landing, she turned to him. "Hey, Keitaro," she said putting her finger to her mouth in a worried gesture. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, dork, you don't look so good." 

"I'm not, guys." Keitaro smiled grimly. "I think I'm really sick." 

"Oh, Su knows, Su knows!" Su waved her hand around excitedly. "I'll make you my special egg malt and read you stories like the last time you were sick." 

"No, Su!" Keitaro let out before dissolving into a fit of hacking coughs. 

Su's face drooped. "Why not?" She asked. 

"Because of yours and everyone else's 'treatments', I had some really freaky dreams afterwards." He punctuated his sentence with a giant sneeze. 

"Like what?" Sarah asked. 

"You mean besides the combination of what happened that day and the storyline of Su's tales?" They nodded. "It basically ended in what happens to me every day when I'm awake. I get put into a compromising situation, you guys call me a pervert, and I promptly get the shit kicked out of me." He let out a small chuckle. 

"What's so funny, Keitaro?" 

Keitaro allowed another chuckle to escape from his lips. "Even in my dreams, you girls continue to torture me." 

"Aww...we're sorry Keitaro. We don't mean to hurt you. You're just so fun to knock around." Su whimpered as she leaned forward to hug Keitaro. 

"Whoa there, Su." Keitaro said as he held his hands in front of him to stop Su. "I'd feel awful if I got you sick too." 

"Don't worry about her," Sarah smirked. "She's as hardy as a cockroach." 

Keitaro relented and Su gave him a squeeze, but not as hard as one of her full-out glomps. She then forced him to lie back down. "Now, Keitaro," she said in a dignified manner so unlike her. "Would you like us to get you anything to help?" 

"If you guys don't mind, could I have some hot tea? I could really use it." 

Su's hyperactivity returned rather quickly. Okies," she smiled as she planted a kiss on Keitaro's forehead. She then ran out calling out behind her, "Be back soon!" 

"Wait! I'll help too!" Sarah yelled as she ran out after her. Before leaving however, she stuck her head back in. "Just so you know, I don't like you or anything. I just don't think Papa would be happy if his best part-timer died on the job." 

Keitaro let out a smile. "Thanks, Sarah." Amazingly, Sarah let out a small smile too before disappearing. Keitaro sighed, shook his head, and quickly fell back asleep. 

***** 

"Shinobuuu!" 

Su's voice echoed through the halls of Hinata House announcing her arrival. It was swiftly followed with Su launching herself from the top of the stairs and clearing every step to the bottom. Her feet let out a muffled thump as she landed softly. 

Kitsune winced at the noise. "Please, Su," she pleaded. "Be quiet. My hangover is killing me." 

Su merely ignored her. It wasn't like it was anything new. Kitsune's state of drunkenness was a common sight to behold within the walls of the dormitory. 

"Shinobu," she said louder than necessary (torturing Kitsune was almost as fun as torturing Keitaro, and much more satisfying.) "I need some hot tea A.S.A.P. C'mon, let's go." She moved her hands into a shooing gesture. 

"What for, Su?" Shinobu asked. She had never seen Su so demanding, Well, actually, she had, especially when it came near dinnertime. But there was a look in her eye that told Shinobu something was different. 

"Keitaro's sick." Su simply stated. 

"Oh, no. Not again!" Whined Kitsune. 

"Poor sempai," murmured Shinobu. 

"Another blow to his immortality." Motoko said stroking her cheek. 

Naru, Mutsumi, and Haruka simply stayed quiet. Naru clung to Liddo-kun like it was some sort of life preserver in some deep sea. Haruka was in her usual stoic silence that seemed to pulse with wisdom. Mutsumi had accidentally passed out for some unknown reason yet again. 

Haruka finally broke her vigil of silence. "Well, it looks like my nephew needs some taking after yet again by you girls." 

Sarah piped up (she had arrived shortly after Su,) "He requested that you give him none of your treatments and to not read him any stories." 

The other girls blushed at this mention. They remembered the so-called 'treatments' they had tried on him: Su's strange concoction of alcohol, Motoko's downright combination of backyard wildlife, and Kitsune's somewhat risqué actions after the consumption of Su's said drink. 

Then came the simultaneous readings of four totally different stories at once. They didn't learn it till later that the combination of chemical inbalances caused by the treatments and subconscious playings by their readings resulted in nightmares for the next couple of weeks. 

They did find out later when awoken by inhuman screaming coming from the manager's room. They rushed to find Keitaro wide-awake, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Luckily, this subsided after a while and life returned to its abnormal, hectic pace at Hinata House. 

"Did we ever find out what he was dreaming about?" Kitsune wondered. 

Su answered. "He said it was a combination of his daily life with us and the stories we read him that usually ended up with us beating him up." 

"That would explain the screaming." Motoko said. 

The others couldn't help but laugh out loud. Their jovial moment was ruined by an explosion that rocked the entire dormitory. Smoke was pouring from out of the stairs that lead to the second floor. 

"What the hell was that?!" Naru screamed. 

"Oops..." Su's face had a look of horror on it. 

"Su...dear..." Naru looked like she was trying to hold back a vast amount of anger. She wasn't doing a very good job at it however. Her mouth was clenched into a grim smile; her eyes were also closed, the left on twitching violently. "What...did you...do?" 

Su laughed nervously. "I...kinda forgot that gave Mecha-Tama a wake-up program as punishment for Keitaro for leaving early and not returning last night." 

"What kind of program was it, Su?" 

"..." 

"Su, what was it?" 

"Self-destruct..." Su mumbled softly. 

"What?" 

"Self-destruct." Su said louder. 

Naru's eye twitched even more. "Su, you do realize that your inventions carry miniature nuclear reactors as a power sources, right?" 

"Oh yeah, that's right." Su grinned sheepishly. 

As if to prove her point, a charred object crashed through the roof of Hinata House, and plunged into the middle of them at the speed of about 100 mph. The tenants didn't have to look to know that the boor, burned mess in front of them was Keitaro. 

"You know," Keitaro said in a strangled voice. "Sometimes I'm really glad that I'm immortal. Otherwise I would have been dead or left long ago." He then let out a wracking series of coughs. "Too bad it doesn't apply to colds too. I feel like I just went through a garbage compressor." 

"Keitaro!" Naru shouted, concern etched on her face. She rushed over to his side and planted his head in her lap. "Are you okay?" 

Keitaro's eyes focused on her. "Oh hey, Naru," he said in a distracted tone. "Did you and Mutsumi get Liddo-kun back? Sorry that I got him messed up." 

Naru smiled slightly. "Yeah, thanks for asking. That was sweet." 

Keitaro smiled back. "Oh, okay." 

Kitsune her classic fox face. "You sure are acting friendly towards Keitaro, Naru. Anything happen that we should know about?" Nary blushed. 

Keitaro noticed. "Yet another reason I'm glad I'm immortal." 

"Why's that?" Naru asked. 

Keitaro's face turned to puzzled. "Aren't you going to beat me up?" 

Naru opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She blushed again. "No, not this time silly," she said, stroking his cheek. 

Keitaro grinned. "Okay. Well, I'm going back to sleep. Good night, or is it good morning? I'm not really..." He abruptly fell back into unconsciousness. 

Everyone remained silent. Kitsune spoke up. "Silly?" She said with one eye opened and an eyebrow raised. 

"W-what?" Naru stuttered, still blushing furiously. 

"Oh my!" Everyone turned to look at Mutsumi. "I think that we've had enough time to make fun of Naru," she said with a hint of jealously I her voice. She had awakened early enough to see the position Keitaro and Naru had been in. 

"I think," she continued. "That we should get Urashima back to bed. Unless you want him to get worse that is." 

"Good idea," Motoko grunted. She picked Keitaro up, and slung him over her shoulder. 

"Motoko..." Naru started. 

"What?" 

Naru eyed Keitaro's slightly uncomfortable position. 

"Oh, come on," Motoko complained. "It's not like he's even conscious to whine about it!" 

Everyone sweatdropped. 

"Oh, fine," Motoko muttered. She took Keitaro off of her shoulder and held him in her arms. She had one arm under the small of his back and other one in the crook of his knees. She blushed at the awkwardness of the situation. She was holding him bridal style... Naru nodded her approval. 

"Come along, Urashima. It's time for bed." Motoko headed for the stairs when she remembered what had occurred just a few minutes ago. "Umm... Considering that Urashima's room is currently non-existent, where's he going to sleep?" 

Everyone remained silent. "That's a good question." Haruka said. 

"Maybe he could shack up with Naru," Kitsune joked. 

"Oh, come on, Kitsune," Sarah said, exasperated. "He's not even conscious to be embarrassed." 

"I suppose..." Naru said. 

Everyone stared at her. "What?" The said in unison. 

"Not like that, you depraved-minded dimwits!" She yelled. "I mean he takes my room while I double with someone else." They all sighed. 

"I'd be happy to share my room, Naru." Shinobu suggested. 

"Thank you, Shinobu." Naru smiled. 

"Now that that's settled, shouldn't I get our manager to his temporary quarters? Motoko said. 

"Mighty eager to get alone with Keitaro, ain't ya?" Kitsune grinned. 

"I-I-I...Of course not!" Motoko gulped while blushing. Keitaro chuckled in her arms. Motoko looked down at him. "Urashima! Are you awake?" She shook him. "Answer me!" 

"Heh...little me...turtle..." Keitaro chuckled. 

Kitsune sweatdropped. "Guess he's still asleep." 

"Name's Keitaro...not Taro..." 

"What in blazes is he talking about?" Motoko asked. 

"Ooh, Su knows!" They turned to her. "Remember he said he dreamed about the stories we read him? Mine was 'Taro Urashima.'" 

"That's right," Kitsune said. "Hey, I know!" Let's listen to him. I always wanted to know how that dream of his went." 

"I don't know..." Naru said. "Isn't that kind of immoral?" 

"So? Maybe we could even get some information to blackmail him with." 

"Like I said...immoral. Say it with me..." 

"Oh, come on." Sarah whined. "Don't be such a spoilsport." 

"Ohhhhh, fine!" Naru huffed. 

"Good girl," Kitsune grinned. 

They all leaned in to hear Keitaro's random tellings of his dreams. 

A/N: Yay! Second chapter is done! Hope you like it! I do have the entire story done so all I have to do is type it up and upload it on fanfiction.net. And now, to talk to the characters. 

_The room is full of gigantic holes and burn marks. Gloworm16 is tied and gagged on the floor with Su's laser trained on him. Su and me are standing over him._

Me: Sorry about this. _(gives a quick kick to gloworm16)_ After he promised to be good he got a little out of hand and tried to steal Su's gun. _(looks at mangled room)_ He did and went on a little rampage before I got Naru and Motoko to stop them. Thanks girls! _(waves to them)_

Naru and Motoko: You're welcome! 

Me: Anyway... _(looks at gloworm16)_ Are you ready to try again? 

gloworm16: _(nods)_ Mmph. 

Me: Okay. _(removes gag)_

gloworm16: _(sighs)_ You jackass! 

Me: Whoops! _(puts back gag)_ You know...you hate spamming right? _(gloworm16 nods nervously)_ I could give some real world info on you. Like how your name is Vince... 

gloworm16: Mmph!!! 

Me: _(grins)_ Or how about that your phone number is 268-... 

gloworm16: Mmmppphhh!!! 

Me: Or maybe that you live at... 

gloworm16: MMMMMPPPPPHHHHHH!!!!!!!! 

Me: Now...? 

gloworm16: _(nods head)_ Mmph. 

Me: Good. _(takes out gag)_

gloworm16: Jerk. 

Me: Hey, it's a start. 

Su: Yes it is! 

Me: gloworm16? 

gloworm16: Yes? _(I nod towards the audience, he sighs) Please Review. Good enough?_

Me: _(grins)_ Very. 

A/N: Sigh... Well at least that crisis is over. I'm sure gloworm16 will be much better next time. I'll try to get the next chapter done as soon as possible so keep on reviewing. And remember...no flames! Oh, and by the way, how the hell do I keep bold and italics! I can't do it! Please help me! 


	3. Chapter 3: Background Check

A/N: Oh god! It was horrible! Hurricane Isabelle came and knocked out our power! No electricity! No running water! Melting frozen foods! The horror... the horror... Oh well. It came back in 18 hours, so... Anyway, thank you reviewers, and here's each of your special thanks. 

**Cheshire Cat5:** yes, I am 16. I do not lie. Thank you for the detailed analysis, and I hope I never write anything that you want to criticize. BTW, how do you get HTML tags? 

**Urashima Keitaro:** I did what you said. Thank you. 

**Turtle Lady:** yeah, so do other people. Heh... 

**John McCoy:** thank you very much for the review. I also thank you for the bracket idea. I'll use it later on 

**SolarFire2:** you okay? Don't want to get sued for bodily injuries. Yeah, those self inserts I don't like. Just keep it to the storyline 

**Shadowed-Moon2525:** thank you for such a wonderful review! But as heads up, Naru isn't as much OOC as Keitaro is this chapter. Whoops... 

**Drake Dragon:** I'm sure you do. I'm not so sure about the bomb... wait there was one so... YES IT IS!!! 

**Jihi:** thank you! But I'm sure you're just fine. It's just that I've written for a while but I've never had the guts to put any of them out. Stupid coward! 

**jenniviennai:** yeah, things are getting stranger, but like you said, it's Hinata House! Thank you 

Anyway, thank you all! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**Holding Hands **

By Yamiga'sLight 

Chapter 3: Background Check 

"..." – talking '...' – thinking 

All of the girls gathered around Keitaro to listen. It wasn't like they were violating his thoughts, they just wanted to make sure he didn't have any perverted dreams. If he did, they would punish him for it. 

Right... As if they never had naughty thoughts that contained various unmentionables that I shall not discuss at the moment. They just didn't care about any of that at the moment. Anyway... 

Keitaro's lips slightlt moved to form unreadable words and every once in a while he muttered out some weird phrase. 

"I didn't know Sempai talked in his sleep," Shinobu said. 

"Sure he does," Kitsune replied. 

"And how would you know that, Kitsune?" Naru growled. 

"Let's just say I need some extra sake money." Everyone just stared at her, mouths agape. "Not like that! I didn't do anything physical. I just did what we're doing now." 

"You blackmailed him?" Giggled Sarah. "What did he say?" 

"He's already paid me in full not to disclose that information." Kitsune said in a business-like tone. Sarah fished out some money. Kitsune just laughed. "Trust me. He paid a lot more money than that." 

Everybody had the same thought. 'What the heck did he say?' 

"Little me...princess...?" Keitaro mumbled. 

They all quickly diverted their attention back to Keitaro. 

"Ostrich...big egg..." 

Su giggled. "That would have been by me." 

"Su!...you're little...funny..." Keitaro chuckled. 

"Strange," Motoko said. "Very strange." 

"Toad...too big...can't eat..." 

Motoko gulped in embarrassment. "Mine." 

"What did you do?" 

"Mashed up essence of toad and gecko." 

Sarah looked disgusted. "Eww...that's just gross!" 

Motoko looked down. "It's an old family remedy. It's supposed to work. Though I have to admit, all he gained was a lost of blood through his nose." 

"Didn't make...cry" Keitaro said irritated. His facial features then softened and turned into a very good resemblance of despair. "Sorry...don't cry... Shinobu..." 

"He's right. You do cry a lot Shinobu." Su said. 

"No, I don't!" Yelped Shinobu with tears in her eyes. 

"Bunny girl..." 

"Pervert! That's it, he's dead!" Motoko was about to drop him when Keitaro burst out laughing. "What the...?" 

"Kitsune?!...so cute!...so funny!..." The mentioned person's eyes opened slightly and a tint of blush appeared on her cheeks. "Everyone...so little...so cute...like chibis..." 

"You know," Mutsumi said. "For your so-called 'pervert', he sure seems to have very innocent dreams." 

"She's right there," said Haruka through a cigarette. "In any case, I noticed that Keitaro hasn't mentioned Naru, Mutsumi, or me yet in his dream. Wonder why?" 

"Don't know." Kitsune's face lightened into a light grin. "Maybe he's saving something special for Naru and Mutsumi, hmm?" Her face then split open into a full-blown fox one. 

"Kitsune!" Naru yelled. 

"Oh my! Something special with Urashima?" Mutsumi clapped her hands together and smiled. "That sounds like fun." 

Naru turned to her. "You know, Mutsumi, sometimes I worry about you." 

"Why?" Mutsumi said tilting her head. 

"Never mind." 

"Sandbox..." 

"Hush guys!" Kitsune whispered. 

"...girl..." Keitaro's face turned into a happy smile. 

"Must be my nephew's promise girl," said Haruka through a puff of smoke. 

Naru turned her head and looked at Mutsumi. 'Mutsumi...' She thought sadly. 

Keitaro's face then turned into a look of confusion. "Wait...two?" 

All of the girls looked shocked. "What!?" They shouted. 

Keitaro's look of confusion soon turned into recognition. "Wait...I know you?...-chan?...-chan?..." The beginning of the girl's names were lost in Keitaro's incoherent mumblings. 

Motoko was the first to recover from her shock. "This is an interesting twist," she remarked at the revelation. Everyone just simply nodded. 

"Wonder what this means," Kitsune said. 

Naru then remembered something. The picture that had led her to believe that Mutsumi was the promise girl. She was in it too, wasn't she? Maybe he was just remembering her from that photo. Yes, that was all that she was. Just an extra person from his memories of his precious 'promise girl.' Her reverie was cut short as a scream of terror was heard from Keitaro. 

"Oh shit!" He yelled. "Grown up...don't hit!..." He threw his hands in front of his face as if to protect himself from some unknown force. The girls looked at him with concern and shame as they though they knew who was pummeling him. Keitaro's frantic shudders began to stop as he slowly lowered his arms. His eyes slowly opened. 

"Oh man. That was scary. Weird too. Huh?" Keitaro blinked and rubbed his eyes. "Motoko? What are you doing?" Motoko blushed as an answer. He look around and blinked again. "Guys, why are you all crowded around me?" They all look down sheepishly. 

Keitaro's face changed quickly from befuddled surprise to neutral with a hint of anger. He looked at Kitsune; she didn't meet his eyes. "You did it again, didn't you?" He questioned. Silence. 

Keitaro's warm brown eyes turned ice cold. He shook himself out of Motoko's arms and landed on the floor. He picked himself up and looked at everyone. "I don't believe you guys!" He shouted. Malice and anger laced his every word. "I am really pissed!" 

The Hinata House tenants whipped their heads up. Never before had they ever seen Keitaro act like this. He never got angry, no matter what they did. In fact, most of the time, he was the one apologizing afterwards. He was the most caring and forgiving of them all. To see him like this showed that they might have hit a rather large nerve this time. 

"I don't believe it," he repeated. "I don't believe it." He stared at Kitsune. "I'd expect this from you, Kitsune." His gazed switched to rest of them. "But the rest of you...I thought you knew better." He looked down. "I am truly disappointed..." A shudder passed through his body and he collapsed. 

"Keitaro!" Naru said as she rushed over to his side. Keitaro looked up and she gasped as she saw hate in his eyes. Hate, directed towards and the others. 

"And you, Naru..." He panted. "I thought that you knew the value of privacy most of all. Or was I wrong?" 

Naru flinched. She remembered how horribly she had treated him when she found him looking into her diary. She had ignored him, didn't let him study with her when he so needed to. She had even refused to talk to him when he had tried so hard to apologize to her. This had gone on for two weeks. 

"I'm sorry, Keitaro," she said. "Here, let me help you up." She sucked in air as he harshly slapped her arm aside. 

"Don't touch me!" He snarled. "I don't want your help." HE slowly got up. "I am disgusted by all of you," Keitaro spat out. "I take abuse from day after day from all of you for the tiniest mistakes. I am beaten, bashed, pummeled, smashed, shot, blown up, and blackmailed every day of my life here, and frankly, I'm tired of it." 

He let out his breath as he shakily leaned on the banister of the stairs. "A normal person would have either left or had thrown you all in jail long ago for the abuse you've given me." He put his face in his hands and started to shake. The others thought he was crying until they realized that he wasn't. He was laughing. 

"But I love you all too much. I love you guys so much." He giggled. "And that's why...that's why..." Keitaro burst out laughing. "That's why it hurts so much when you do this to me." 

He bent over, holding his sides. "You'd think I let you hit me otherwise? You really think I can't defend myself? How else do you think I survive your attacks? I'm able to minimize the damage." He looked up, wiping tears out of his eyes. "But you guys hitting me is the only way I can forgive myself. The only way..." 

He looked at the girls. "You don't believe me, do you?" They shook their heads, all except for Haruka, who was the only one who knew the truth. She knew, not only from Keitaro's blatantly telling her once, but also from the way his trainer was. The old bat was crazy, but she trained very well. 

Keitaro glanced at Motoko. She stepped back from the slightly crazed look in his eyes. "Motoko, attack me." He simply stated. 

Motoko was taken aback. "Urashima?" 

"Attack me." 

Motoko shook her head. Obviously, the cold was making him delirious. He wouldn't be acting like this otherwise. She smiled hesitantly, trying to calm him down. "But Urashima, you are sick. You wouldn't be able to survive if I did," she reasoned. 

Keitaro dropped the smile and his face contorted into anger. "Damn it, you worthless ronin! Attack me!" He shouted. 

Motoko's face darkened. "What did you call me, Urashima?" 

Keitaro smirked. "You heard me; you heard me you unfemine, unattractive warrior," he sneered. "Attack me." 

"Urashima!" She yelled. "You're dead! Rock-splitting sword!" Motoko drew her katana and lunged forward. She raised he hands above her head and slashed the katana down onto Keitaro's head. 

Keitaro lifted up his right arm. 

And caught the blade between his fingers. 

Everyone was shocked. They had only seen him do this once, and he swore that it was nothing but a fluke. They never thought that he would be able to do this voluntarily. Motoko was even more shocked. She never though that this sorry excuse for a man would ever be able to stop her. 

"Now do you believe, Motoko?" Keitaro's other hand shot out to knock Motoko's grip off the hilt and flipped the katana into his hands. He gently twirled it through his fingers. "Such a beautiful blade Motoko. Too bad it is handled by such filth as I." He extended it back, hilt first. "Here you go." 

Motoko silently took the katana back. The second she did, Keitaro's eyes changed to the sad, lonely look he had whenever he was unusually depressed. "I am very sorry, girls." He bowed. "I did not mean to say anything hurtful or spiteful. This will hopefully never happen again. But you must understand that even though I am physically immortal, I still have a very much human heart." 

He sighed. "I love each and everyone of you so much. So it hurts me whenever you beat me or call me names. I can only take so much. I hope you will be able to forgive me for these past transgressions." He turned and started to head up the stairs. "I think I should go back to bed for now. Bye." 

He quickly disappeared and they heard his muffled paddings on the floor above them. They heard a door slide open and then his voice. "Aww, crap, my room's ruined. Damn it, Su." Su flinched. "You went too far this time." The door slid shut and they heard a thump which was Keitaro falling onto the floor. "Oww, think I overexerted myself. Painful...so very painful." 

They all jumped when they heard him calling them. "Hey girls, I know you're listening. There is a gigantic hole in the ceiling after all." A wracking series of coughs interrupted him. "Oh, crap, that can't be good." His voice raised in volume. "Anyway, think one of you could get me some pain killers?" I'd really, really appreciate it." More coughing. "Or of that doesn't work, just bring me the largest blunt instrument that we have and I'll bash myself into unconsciousness." Manic laughing was heard. "Oh man, I am so out of it. Sleepy time..." Another thump, then silence. 

Haruka took a deep, long drag of her cigarette. "I think he's asleep now." She sniffed and turned around. "I think you guys really hurt him this time. This wasn't your usual cruelty." 

"What do you mean by that, Haruka?" 

"What I mean is that you girls treat him bad enough for the various mistakes that he does. You really are too overly ecstatic when it comes to his punishment. But this...this is different. You guys invaded his deepest privacy, his dreams. Nobody deserves hat, especially not Keitaro. And that is for two reasons. One, that was a story about his 'promise girl,' and you know how sensitive he gets about that subject.' 

She took the cigarette out of her mouth and dropped it on the floor. Immediately after, her heel came up and then down again to crush the cigarette underneath it. Her heel continued to ground it into the floor as the ashes from it spread around. Her normal stoic face seemed to have a look of disgust etched around the edges as she stared at the newly obliterated object. 

"Nasty thing," she muttered under her breath. "Becoming a bad habit of mine. Wonder if I can stop eventually." 

She lifted her head to look at the girls. "And two, Keitaro is the kindest, gentlest, most giving soul in the world, and I'm proud to have him as my relative." 

"Despite his klutziness, lack of high intelligence, and so-called perverted ways you are so fond of naming him of, he still does his best. No matter what life has thrown at him, he still has the persistence to plow through it all and keep going. And trust me, Keitaro has never had an easy life. He has been teased constantly because of his 'hopeless' dream to get into Tokyo U. Even his parents gave up on him. 

"Another thing, as you probably have found out from him already, is that he's never had a girlfriend before either. That means that he's never had anyone to care for him and visa versa. He's always been alone. But since he came here, he's had people to care for. Seven people in fact, you guys. He now has seven people to care for and for them to care for him. To laugh with, to cry with, to do knows what with. 

"And so he does everything he can to make sure each and every one of you are happy. You guys are his everything. You may not realize it, but you made him into what he is today. You are as intricately woven into his life as he is in yours. And all he asks for is a little kindness in return. Now you may give him a little, some more than others, but you still treat him very cruelly." 

"You know that Keitaro is very emotional to most things, and he becomes depressed rather easily. Take for example after his third examination or when Seta finally came back. Now I don't know exactly what happened, but I think I have a good idea of why he acted that way." With that, her eyes landed on Nary. Naru instantly blushed and looked down at the floor. She also had a good idea of the cause of Keitaro's behavior. Before everyone moved their attention to her, Haruka began to talk again. 

"In any case, Keitaro has a very kind but very fragile heart. He does the best to make you guys as happy as possible, but it always seems to backfire on him, doesn't it? Still, he does have his heroic moments, even if they have a somewhat strange ending." 

She turned to Shinobu. "Shinobu, what about when he first got here? You remember what he did?" Shinobu shook her head in puzzlement. "He was able to make up for his lie when he found out about your birthday when nobody else remembered. I can still see the look of joy on your face that evening." 

Shinobu's eyes teared up at that memory. "Sempai..." She sniffled. 

Next was Su. "Su, how about that time when Motoko left for camp ad Keitaro was your playmate? I'm surprised that you didn't kill him throughout the day and night, but he put up with you and I haven't seen you that happy for a long time." 

Su's eyes closed and a grin spread across her face. "Yep," she smiled toothily. "Keitaro's just like my big brother, only funnier. I love him!" 

On to Kitsune. "Kitsune...I don't know about you, Kitsune. I'm just surprised that with the amount of money you extort and/or he gives you for your lavish, slacker lifestyle, he hasn't evicted your ass out of here yet." 

Kitsune just grinned. "Yep, Keitaro's just nice like that I guess." She said as she held out a thumbs up. 

Then came Motoko. "Motoko, what about when you were having those identity crisis? Keitaro was the one who helped you through them. And if I remember correctly, you were rather serene for a while after. Not to mention Keitaro was your personal emotional and physical punching bag for those periods in time." 

The corners of Motoko's mouth turned up into the tiniest of smiles. "Yes," she murmured. "Urashima was rather honorable at those times wasn't he?" 

Then Sarah. "Sarah, Keitaro has taken very good care of you since Seta left you in his care, right? He's been trying his best to make sure that you enjoy your time at Hinata House, and enjoy it with the other members as well." 

Sarah scowled, but there was a glint in her eye. "Yeah, I guess that dork did all right." 

Mutsumi. "Mutsumi, I can't even count the number of times Keitaro's saved you from dying from your fainting spells. Or the way he helps you around so that you don't get lost or hit by a car or something other." 

Mutsumi clapped her hands together and smiled warmly. "Yes, Urashima is a very nice and sweet person. I really like him." 

Finally, she came to Naru. "And Naru, Naru...you know all of the things he's done for you so we'll leave it at that." 

The only thing Naru could do was look down and softly whisper, "Keitaro." 

"In any case, as I said before, Keitaro does his best to make you girls as happy as you can possibly be while he's manager. And all he wants is that you respect him as he respects you, and tryst me, he holds you all very high in respect. But what you just did was not only disrespectful, but also very hurtful. And that's all I have to say about that." 

With her insightful speech ended, Haruka walked back to the chair she fell asleep in, sat down, crossed her arms, and promptly fell silent again. After this, a curtain of silence descended upon the room. The girls just stood there, deep in though, each contemplating on what had just been said. Haruka was right; Keitaro did do his best to make sure none of them were ever sad. And all they ever did in return was punish him. 

So what if he had some perverted tendencies? Any male who lived in close contact with so many fine specimens of females would undoubtedly act that way sometime along his life. And Keitaro wasn't even one of the worst-case scenarios of perverts. He almost never deliberately tried to grope them or peek on them in their various day events. Most were more or less due to his extreme klutziness or horrible bad luck at timing. Sometimes it was due to the antics of the other Hinata House tenants that caused his unfortunate 'accidents.' 

In short, Keitaro had never purposefully hit on them, groped them, or peeked at them. It was mostly due to unfortunate circumstance. 

They all remembered when Keitaro had first come to Hinata House. Now that they thought about it, Keitaro didn't really mean to do any of the stuff that they accused him of intentionally. To start with, he never really found out that the inn was turned into a girl's dormitory, so he couldn't really be blamed for wanting to study there. 

Two, the whole hot spring incident wasn't exactly all his fault. What would you do if some strange, beautiful woman just came into the hot springs naked, sat down next to you, and started to talk and act towards you like she knew you or your entire life? In Keitaro's case, he just froze. Then came the groping. That was the beginning of the chaos, and the pain. 

Considering that same random woman decided to grab Keitaro while he was till in his statue state, his reaction wasn't all that uncommon. His little person, (heh-hem) changed. The reaction was that the woman, Naru, found out that Keitaro wasn't of the right gender. Next was very loud screaming and Keitaro scrambling to get the hell out. 

Thus came his faithful meeting with the fox. Understandably, Keitaro was look over his shoulder to make sure the girl wasn't following him. So he wasn't looking in front of him and came into contact with two large, squishy objects. You know what happened there. 

Anyway, next came his so-called 'panty pinching' part. That means he crashed into Su who was carrying some laundry while trying to escape the two women he had just surprised and/or angered. His headfirst dive into the clothes resulted with questionable pieces adorning him. 

Finally came the flashing which I am not even going to try to explain because no matter what I say, it will turn out wrong. I will just say that it was not on purpose, and his fear of the wrath from these women had affected his...Umm...never mind! 

All in all, his first trip to Hinata House was basically just a series one unfortunate, unlucky accident after another. 

Upon this revelation, the girls finally snapped out of their silence. Kitsune was the first to talk. "Okay, I think we got what you said, Haruka. But I still have one question. Where the heck did Keitaro learn to fight like that? I'd never seen him like that before." 

Motoko was the next one to talk. "Yes. Urashima always goes on about how he could never beat anyone of us in a fight. Even when he beat me, he said it was nothing but a fluke. So when did he learn techniques like that?" 

It was Haruka that spoke again. "I believe I have the answer to that." Everyone turned to her as she explained Keitaro's past once again. 

"It was a while ago when Keitaro came to me to talk about something. What the subject was, was that he wanted to resign as manager of Hinata House." A collective gasp was heard as the girls were shocked by this information. "Oh, don't worry, he hasn't retired yet, has he? Anyway, he was tired about being knocked around by you girls. But the thing the thing that drove him the most to that choice was because he was worried about you girls." 

They all had puzzled looks on their faces while Haruka buried her face into her hands and groaned. "C'mon, you guys. He though he was making your lives miserable. You certainly grounded the idea into his head when you punished him all the time. He thought that if he left and hired a female manager in his place like you originally wanted, you all would be much happier." 

"But that's not true!" Su shouted. "Keitaro's a part of our lives now! We love him!" 

"Speak for yourself," muttered Sarah. 

"That's not what he thought," said Haruka. "Think about it, you guys practically told him you hated him every day. Of course he thought that you would be happier if he left." 

The boarders hung their heads in shame. They knew that what Haruka was saying was true. They did treat him as though they hated him. But that was another matter and they were focused on something else at the moment. 

"So...how did you convince him to stay?" 

"I'm not going to go into it right now. Maybe I'll tell you some other time. But anyway, during our talk, Keitaro told me he found it funny that you guys never figured out how he could survived all of those attacks with barely a scratch." 

"I though it was because of his immortality," Motoko stated. 

"That's partly true," Haruka said. "Keitaro was born with an ability to withstand massive blows to his body. But that's not all of it. He was also trained by a very good, if not crazy, martial artist." She took a deep breath and finished. "To put it simply, Keitaro could have easily stopped any of your attacks, but instead chose to bear it and take the punishment." 

Silence was the only thing that was heard. A bird twittering finally broke the void of sound. Suddenly, the girls broke into a rabble of shock, yelling, and questions. "SO WHY DIDN'T HE!?!" They all shouted. 

Haruka sighed, stood up, and took a deep breath. "QUIET!!!" Everyone did just that. She sat back down, crossed her arms, and sighed yet again. It seemed that the old lady that she was so afraid of becoming was starting to catch up with her. She wearily rubbed her temples in circles while she repeatedly sighed. 

"Didn't you guys hear him? _'I love you guys so much...Hitting me is one of the only ways I can forgive myself.'"_ Haruka simply stated. "He loves you all so much, and he feels guilty whenever he makes any of you sad or happy. So hitting him is a way for him to feel he was able to make up for it part way." 

_"But still," Keitaro's voice played in her mind from her memory. "The frequency of their punishments does get annoying after a while." Merry laughing was heard soon afterward._

Haruka smirked. Yes, it would after a while wouldn't it?" She murmured, then let out a small chuckle. 

"Hmm? What was that, Haruka?" Naru asked. 

"Huh? Oh, nothing, Naru. Just something from the conversation that I though was funny." 

_"And I'd hate to admit it, but I think that some of them are turning into sadists because they sure seem to like seeing the pain on my face."_

Haruka couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. Not small chuckles, but full blown-out, hyena cackle, knee-slapping laughter. Needless to say, the boarders were surprised to see their normally statue-faced house-mother rolling around, holding her sides. More than a few eyebrows were raised. 

"And that?" 

"Ask Keitaro. I never knew my nephew had such a wicked sense of humor." Giggle. That certainly warranted a few surprised looks. Haruka **never** giggled. Whatever Keitaro said, it must have been funny. They would have to ask him later. 

"Anyway, Keitaro was taught in martial arts as a young child for a while by an extremely good yet extremely crazy martial artist master. He's actually quite good, maybe he'll show you sometime. But that's all I'm going to say. If you want to hear the rest, ask Keitaro." 

"But he doesn't even want to talk to us! Not including the fact that he's unconscious at the moment!" Kitsune shouted. 

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that." Haruka muttered under her breath. Her eyes rolled up to look at the ceiling. 

***** 

Keitaro smirked and rolled over. As he did, a long series of coughs erupted from his throat. 'Whoops, that isn't good. Anyway, looks like they know about my strange past.' He though silently as a sneeze came out. 'Ugh, damn cold. I wonder how it's all gonna turn out. The plot sure is thickening." 

A small chuckle escaped through his cracked lips. "Time to continue the next time I wake up. This will all be very interesting." 

He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. 

A/N: Hooray! The third chapter is done! Only one more to go! If you thought this chapter was long, wait until you see the last one. It's a doozy. I hope you enjoyed this one, and I hope you enjoy the next one. Now, on to the characters. 

Me: Well, Glowy... 

glowworm16: _(shouts out from the distance)_ I said don't call me that! 

Me: I mean, gloworm16... 

gloworm16: Thank you! 

Me: Right.. Anyway, he finally decided to calm down and is now getting along quite well with the girls. _(under breath)_ Lucky jerk. _(normal voice)_ Ahem, anyway, that's all good and done with, so let's go back to the actual characters. I want to see how Keitaro's doing. 

Keitaro: Wow... You weren't kidding when you said I was OOC. 

Me: Nope. I've always wanted to write a fic where you finally tell the girls off. _(grins)_ And I guess that's exactly what I did. 

Keitaro: _(looks nervous)_ You said that there's only one chapter left... You think you could tell me how it ends? 

Me: _(strokes chin)_ Well... as long as you don't tell Naru. I want it to be a surprise for her. Heh, heh. 

_I lean over and whisper into Keitaro's ear. His eyes get wide as I continue and then finally his head snaps back when I finish. On his face is a look of total ecstasy. With tears streaming down his face, he grabs my hand and begins to pump it up and down._

Keitaro: Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you... 

Me: _(sighs)_ This is starting to get annoying. _(puts free hand into pocket and pulls out giant metal baseball bat; lifts up, then beans it on Keitaro's head)_

Keitaro: Thank you... ugh. _(falls to floor)_

Naru: _(walks over)_ About time. 

Me: _(scratches head with bat)_ Yeah, I now see why he gets annoying sometimes. 

Naru: By the way, where'd you learn that trick? 

Me: _(grins)_ Learned it from Su. I really like her. 

Naru: _(huffs)_ Pervert. 

Me: _(puffs up indignantly)_ Hey, I'm a guy. I'm allowed to like girls. Su's cute and has a great personality, even if she could possibly kill me. 

Su: Really? 

Me: _(sweatdrops)_ Ack! Su! When'd you get here! 

Su: _(giggles)_ I'm always here Yamiga. Now, what was that about... 

Me: _(gulps)_ Well! That's all the time we have for today! Now it's time for me to get going! _(runs off)_

Su: Yamiga! _(giggles)_ Oh, well... He has to come back eventually. He is the author. 

Naru: Yeah, he is. _(looks at unconscious Keitaro)_ Oh, well in any case... 

Naru and Su: Please Review! 

A/N: Whew! Don't know how I even got into that situation, but... Anyway, I've go the entire story done, all's I got's to do is write the last chapter. Oh, and by the way, I already have a sequel lined up with a few chapters done so I was wondering if any of my reviewers wanted to be my pre-readers as well. Just to get some extra feedback. Okay? Thanks. And remember, no flames! 


	4. Chapter 4: Confessions

A/N: I'm so sorry for being late people! I could've uploaded it by Friday, but my dad took away my internet privileges for the weekend. I'm so sorry! Anyway... Hooray! I finally, finally learned how to get HTML tags. Thank you, Stahn Aileron! Thank you so much! Oh, and one BIG bit of a warning. If you do not like and/or hate Keitaro/Naru pairings, then I suggest you stop right now. The ending will probably want to make you retch your guts. But for the others... you'll love it! Yay! 

**Android K:** one I'd like to thank you for offering to be a pre-reader, I really appreciate it. Two, I love your review, it's so great! And one other thing, I'll try to read your fanfic, but unfortunately for me, I have no knowledge of gundam wing, so I might be a little confused of the plot. I'm sooooo sorry 

** Shadowed-Moon2525:** thank you for the review, but if you don't like that much OOC-ness, then you might not like the sequel because EVERYONE acts much more mature, and Keitaro doesn't act like so much of a wimp. Sorry. And don't worry about the advertisement plug, I love it when people suggest their own fics. It gives me a feeling of...something. Heh, heh 

**Jihi:** thank you so much for staying with me the entire time. Heh, truth be told, I didn't think so many people would like my fic. And yeah, Keitaro finally snapped. If I were in his shoes, I probably would have done that long ago 

**Metallica-wedo:** thanks for the review and thank you even more for wanting to be my pre-reader 

**LighthawkKnight:** deep. Yeah, you could call it that. Thanks. I thank you for your kind and enthusiastic words 

**Knight's Shadow:** thank you. I will as soon as I can type 

**Nutty Al:** thank you for your concern! And thank you for the review! And thank you... wait... for everything! Whoo-hoo! 

**Achariyth:** thank you for the (ahem) detailed review. I didn't know I had such people of English reading my pathetic crap. (you notice I'm a cynic?) anyway, about the St. Keitaro angle, I just wanted to prove a point to the girls and I guess I went a wee (*cough* bullshit *cough*) bit too far. My bad. And I would love for you to be my pre-reader. Thank you 

**Baka-Alaskan:** thank you for the review. Btw, are you really a baka-alaskan, or are you just trying to be funny? Kidding. I love you all, well as much a 16 year old boy can... right 

**Kippenberger:** I love your name! It's so cool! But sorry about the pairing, you're not going to like it. And Kanako is a totally different promise altogether, you know what I mean. But since I finally finished the manga... I'd rather not ruin it for you. Believe what you want 

**Jenniviennai:** thank you for the review. And yes, Haruka doesn't get enough time in the spotlight! Argh! It infuriates me. Even Tama-chan gets more panel time than her and she never speaks except for several "myuh"s 

Anyway thank you all! 

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do. 

**Holding Hands **

By Yamiga'sLight 

Chapter 4: Confessions 

"..." – talking '...' – thinking 

A few hours later, things were back to normal at Hinata House. Except for one thing. A thick sheet of tension blanketed every room and hall throughout the dormitory. Everyone was on edge after the revelations shown to them from earlier. 

Keitaro, meanwhile, had finally gotten his tea and medicine by employing the help of Tama-chan. She floated in with a tray on her back holding a cup and a couple of pills. With a 'myuh,' she deposited the tray next to him and left, but not before waving him to get well. 

The corners of Keitaro's mouth turned up. "Really," he smiled. "Is there anything that tiny turtle can't do?" He took a long sip of the tea and let out a gratifying sigh. "Ahhh...that feels good. Nothing like a nice, hot cup of tea." He took the pills and swallowed them with some more of the tea. 

After that, he reached out his arms and stretched them. Feeling a little better, he sat up and noticed something. "Huh?" He look over himself. He saw that he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. "Better get out of these," he said. "I won't get any better wearing wet clothes." Getting out of them, he decided to switch into his pajamas because he'd probably go back to sleep soon anyway. 

Getting up to his feet, Keitaro stretched one more time, moved to his door, and quietly slid it open. He poked his head out and looked up and down the hall. Seeing no one, he stepped out and quietly closed his door. 

He tiptoed down the hall before a thought came to him. 'It's too quiet in here. There's no yelling, explosions, or even any noise at all. Where is everybody?' He silently made his way down the stairs and peeked into the main room. 

There was everybody, mulling around in a dazed state. They all were silent and had confused looks on their faces. Even Su and Sarah had frowns adorning their usually mischievous faces. 'I think I should go back to bed,' Keitaro thought. 

Keitaro shifted his weight to turn around, and the floorboard beneath him creaked. He froze. Everyone's heads snapped up to look at the cause of the disturbance. Their eyes located Keitaro and widened. He laughed nervously and pulled at the neck cuff of his pajama top. "Heh, heh...hi girls." He gulped. 

A swarm of muffled greetings were heard in response. "H'lo Keitaro." "Urahima." "Sempai..." "Keitaro." Hi Keitaro. "Oh my, Urashima." "Keitaro..." It was obvious they weren't prepared to talk to him just yet. 

Keitaro blinked and put his head behind his head. "Sooo...how are you? Having a nice Christmas morning?" Silence was his only answer. "Um, obviously not. Anything wrong that I should know of?" He said with eyebrows raised. No answer again. "Okay, well I'm going back to bed. See ya." He turned around and started to head back upstairs. 

"Wait, Keitaro!" Naru shouted, finally breaking the tension in the air. 

Keitaro turned around again. "Yes, Naru?" His eyes seemed to be asking what it was. She could see it in his depths, a yearning to know what was nagging them. 

"Um," she fidgeted nervously. She looked down at her feet when she said, "Haruka...told us...everything." 

"Everything?" Said Keitaro with an eyebrow raised. 

"About your past...about your feelings...about...you." She answered. 

"I know," he smiled. 

Her head flew up and her eyes snapped open in surprise. "H-h-how?" She stuttered. 

He pointed at the ceiling. The girls look up, noticed the hole was still there, and blushed. Keitaro smiled and laughed. "Yeah, a hole's not exactly good insulation against sound." 

'Not to mention Tama-chan kept giving me frequent reports. I think Mutsumi's starting to rub off on me. When did I start understanding Turtlese?' 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Anyway, I know that you know what I know." He stopped, scratched his head and began again. "I mean, you know what I know which means that...I...know...ARGH!!" He put his hands in his hair and rubbed furiously while bending over in frustration. It was all rather amusing, and seeing their normal Keitaro began to bring back the original cheerful atmosphere of the dormitory. 

"Geeze, Keitaro," mused Kitsune. "Just when we thought you were getting mysterious, you go back to normal." 

"Shut up!" Was the muffled reply. They all giggled. Keitaro stood up and tried again. "You know what? Screw what I know. Now, what do you want to know?" 

"Who did you learn to fight from?" Motoko instantly asked. 

"Um..." Keitaro nervously said. "Except for that. Maybe some other day." 

"Keitaro..." Growled Motoko. 

"You're not going to hit me, are you?" 

"Don't tempt me." 

"You wouldn't hit a person with glasses, would you?" 

"One, that's never bothered me before. Two, you're not wearing any." 

"How about a sick person?" 

"You don't seem very sick if you can stand like that." 

"Wanna come close enough to find out?" 

"I'd rather not." 

"Good. Then back off." 

"Oh, sempai!" Shinobu whimpered. "Please tell us!" She said, giving Keitaro her best puppy-dog eyes, complete with tears and sniffles. 

"Shinobu..." Keitaro sighed. "Please don't do that.' She kept staring. "Please. I have enough nightmares of that old hag without having to bring up some more." 

"Old hag?" Naru asked. 

"You don't mean..." 

"Yeah," Keitaro sighed. "My grandma." 

"Grandma Hina!?" They all shouted. 

"Yeah..." 

"How dare you call Grandma Hina an old hag! "Motoko yelled while drawing her katana." She was a dignified elder which I was proud to know!" 

"Nothing dignified about that crazy old bat," he muttered. 

"Oh, c'mon, Keitaro," Naru said. "She wasn't crazy, just a bit eccentric." 

"She was past eccentric, Naru. She was a full-blown psycho." 

"I vouch for Keitaro." They turned to see Haruka enter the room. "Grandma Hina was a little more than off her rocker. The way she taught Keitaro was kinda unorthodox." 

_********************Flashback******************** _

A ten-year-old Keitaro was tied up with ropes at the bottom of a hill. He looked with tired eyes up at the sky. A rumble was heard and felt in his stomach, and he looked pitifully at a withered figure in front of him. 

"Grandma, can we stop now?" 

Grandma Hinata looked her nose at the small figure at her feet.. Her eyes held an annoyed glint as she frowned. "No," she said firmly. 

"But, Grandmaaa..." He whined. "I'm really hungry and tired..." 

"Quiet!" She snapped. He shut up. "No grandson of mine is going to be a weakling. Now, we are going to repeat this exercise until you do it right. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, Grandma..." Keitaro replied dejectedly. 

"Good. Well, shall we begin?" A wicked smile crossed her aged face and the glint in her eye turned to an amused and almost evil one. "Good luck, Kei." She said as she bounded away. He heard her cackling as she disappeared from his view. 

"But, Grandma! You forgot to untie me! Grandma!" His crying was cut short as a rumbling was heard at the top of the hill. He looked up to see an avalanche of boulders cascading and rolling down the hill towards the young boy. His eyes widened in horror as they got closer. His screams of pain and fear were quickly droned out with the crashing of earth. 

********************End Flashback******************** 

Keitaro closed his eyes and shuddered. From his cold or from the memory, he was not too sure of. "Grandma always had a strange fascination with my immortality. Half the time the training was to see how much abuse my body could take." He then stopped and grinned. "But then if I weren't toughened by her experiments, I probably wouldn't of stayed here for this long, huh?" 

"Man, dork. You were right. Your grandma is psychotic." Sarah said in awe. 

"But when we met her, she seemed like such a nice, old lady." Shinobu said. 

"That's because your not family. She's actually quite sweet with other people. But get her alone with people she's related to...and I'll let your imagination show you the rest." 

"What would she do with you, Keitaro?" Asked Su. 

"Probably run me over with a steamroller. See if I would turn out like a pancake. Evil woman." He muttered. 

"You don't seem to like her very much." Kitsune said. 

"Like her. Heck no, I love her. She's my little, old grandma. It's just that...she...scares me." 

"Scare you? How can she scare you? She's an old woman, and you're...well...immortal." Naru said as she crossed her arms. 

"Naru, just because I'm immortal doesn't mean I can't feel pain. And trust me, my grandma can cause much pain." He took a deep breath, and tried to steady himself on the banister as he was feeling wobbly. "Anyway, I'm glad if I was able to tell you anything you wanted to know. I'm going to go back to bed now. So if you need anything else, say it now." 

"Hey, Keitaro! Can you dodge this!?" Turning his head, Keitaro was able to just catch Su's roundhouse kick right in the face. From her attack, he was propelled right into Naru, knocking them both down. When Naru lifted her head, she saw that Keitaro's face was wedged between her breasts. 

"Kyaaahhh! Pervert!" She wound back her fist and let loose on Keitaro. He was thrown backwards with so much force, he was actually impacted into the wall. He was stuck there, a few feet off the ground, his body molded into it. He fell off, and a perfect impression of him was left in his wake. He picked himself off the ground, and let out a wracking series of coughs. 

"I don't think getting beat up is going to make me better, guys." 

"Oh my gosh, Keitaro! Are you all right?" Naru cried out as she ran over to him. 

"How come he didn't dodge?" Su questioned. 

"Su," Keitaro chuckled. "I'm sick, in case you haven't noticed, and unfortunately, training didn't cure me of my klutziness and extremely bad luck." He gratefully slung an arm around Naru's shoulder as she helped him up. "Thanks, Naru." She blushed and smiled. He turned his attention to the others. "Now, any other questions that don't cause me bodily harm?" 

"Think we could see some of your moves when you get better?" Kitsune quirked. 

Maybe," Keitaro smiled. "Maybe." 

"Urashima?" 

"Yes, Motoko?" 

"Do you think that maybe you could have...a spar...or two, with me," she asked, looking down at her feet. It was obvious that she was embarrassed asking. 

"You know what, Motoko?" She raised her head. His eyes were shut and he had a giant smile on his face. "That sounds like a lot of fun. Just...go easy on me, okay?" 

Motoko's mouth twitched into the tiniest of smiles. A faint flush crossed her cheeks. She bowed and said, "Thank you, Urashima." 

Su bowed over to look at her. "Motoko's blushing!" She laughed. 

"Su! Be quiet!" Motoko yelped trying to cover a laughing Su's mouth. 

"Ha, ha, ha!" They all turned to see a merry, laughing Keitaro. "You know," he said while he raised a hand to wipe some tears out of his eyes. "You guys crack me up." He sighed and murmured something that only Naru could hear, "I love you guys...so much." She smiled. 

"Hey dork!" 

"Yeah, Sarah?" 

"What did you say that made Haruka laugh so hard?" 

"What did I...?" He looked at Haruka, who simply smirked and bonked herself slightly on the head. He flushed. "I'd rather not say." He mumbled. 

"Why not?" 

"Because I'm kinda helpless at the moment and my comment might earn me a death sentence from you girls." 

"Keitaro..." 

"Fine," he sighed. "Promise you won't beat me?" 

"Maybe." 

"I hate chance. I always end up last." 

"Okay, we won't." 

"Umm...I said that you guys were beginning to turn into sadists." 

Silence reigned supreme over all. A cricket was heard chirping until Tama-chan swooped down and ate it. 

"You thought...!" Kitsune started. 

"What's a sadist? Is it yummy?" Su asked innocently. 

Keitaro looked at her and sweatdropped. "I thought you were out of that phase, Su." 

"You..." 

"Well, think about it." Keitaro interrupted. "You guys punish me so much, you seem to enjoy my pain. Besides, when I see your faces when you hit me, it look like you're getting a rush." 

All they did was hang their mouths agape. Keitaro sweatdropped again. "You guys okay?" 

Motoko drew her katana and bared it at him. "Urashima!!" 

Keitaro whipped out his free hand and pointed it at her. "You promised you wouldn't beat me!" 

"I never said..." 

"Bull! I don't care if you didn't yourself. But Sarah did, and no one disagreed so I expect it from you too." 

This was not expected by them, so it was enough for Motoko to calm down. Usually Keitaro was stuttering and apologizing by now, so his new attitude was surprising them all. The aura he was giving off still held his kindness but there was a coolness along with it also. To put it simply, Keitaro had become more...suave. 

"And we'll leave it at that," Haruka said. 

"Thanks, Haruka. Now, anything else? Shinobu?" 

"No, sempai," she shook her head. "There isn't anything I need to know. Is there anything I can get you later?" 

"Umm...I don't want to sound selfish...but if you have any of your cookies, I'd really enjoy those. I still remember how good they tasted from the first time I came here." 

"Of course, sempai!" Shinobu blushed happily. "I don't have any now, but I'd be happy to make some more if you enjoyed them so much." 

"Wait, Shinobu!" Keitaro cried out. "That's not..." But it was too late, she had already rushed into the kitchen. "...necessary. Heh." Keitaro let his head hang down. 'She's so eager to please.' Sudden thoughts crossed through his mind and he mentally slapped himself. 'Bad Keitaro! Man, sometimes I really am a pervert.' 

"Okay, and you, Mutsumi? Anything you want to know?" 

"Oh my, no, Urashima. I'm fine." 

"Okay, that's good. I was starting to get tired. The medicine is finally beginning to kick in." He yawned loudly and briefly licked his lips. He looked at Naru with half-lidded eyes and said, "Naru, think you could help me upstairs and back to bed. I still feel pretty weak." 

"Mighty eager to get alone with Naru, aintcha Keitaro?" Kitsune grinned." 

"You know, Kitsune," Keitaro said tiredly. "Someday I really am going to seduce Naru and you're going to eat those words." 

Silence reared its ugly head again for the second time in the past five minutes. They all stared and blushed at him, Naru being the reddest. His bangs covered his face, so they couldn't see his expression. Suddenly, they head him snorting. He look up with a look of merriment on his face as he laughed. 

"Hee, hee. You should see the looks on your guys' faces." He grinned a duplicate of one of Kitsune's patented fox grins. "It's a perfect Kodak moment." He said as he shook with soft laughter. 

"What?" 

"Guys, it's a joke." He held his hand in front of his face in a effort to stifle the laughter. He didn't do a very good job at it. "You know what would happen if I did. I'd lose as many body parts as she could rip off. He then gave Naru a sly look. "But that doesn't mean I still won't try," he said in a voice meant only for her. 

If it was even possible, Naru blushed even brighter and redder than she was at that moment. She glanced at him. He winked. She looked away. An not once during that entire conversation did she feel the need to pummel hem. Instead, she found a comforting warmth from his attentions that usually warranted him a smack in the face. 

"Well," Keitaro said. "Think you could help me get to my room?" 

"Wha? Oh, sure." And with that, Naru slung her other arm around Keitaro's waist as she half walked, half carried him up the stairs. The rest of the Hinata House just stared in awe at what had just occurred. A few minutes passed by before anyone said anything. 

"Did all of that just happen?" Said Kitsune, amazed. Not once had Keitaro thrown off one of her off-color remarks. Not only did he do that, but he retorted with one of his own. And boy, was it a doozy. 

"I believe it did," Motoko stated. 

"I would seem that my nephew is finally starting to mature into the man he is." They looked at her. She sweatdropped. "Oh, come on. Technically he is twenty-one!" 

Attracted by the noise, or lack therefore of, Shinobu popped her head out of the kitchen. "Is anything wrong, guys?" Huh?' She noticed the absence of two people. "Where's sempai and Naru?" 

Kitsune sighed. "Who wants to be the one that tells her?" 

Shinobu tilted her head. "Tell me what?" She asked perplexed. 

Sarah piped up. "Well, it's like this..." 

***** 

As Naru helped Keitaro walk to his room, she looked down at him. His head was hanging a little to the side, his eyes were slightly, and his feet were dragging somewhat along the floor. She felt a sudden need to comfort him. She gripped the arm around her neck a little more and tightened her arm around his waist. He look up at her and smiled sleepily. Her heart skipped a beat. 

'Idiot!' She thought to herself. 'Why are you acting like this? It's just Keitaro for God's sake!' 

**'That's just it,'** a little voice inside of her said. **'IT'S KEITARO.'**

'You shut up!' 

**'No,'** it responded. **'You can't deny it. I know how you feel.'**

'Shut up!!' 

"Naru?" Keitaro's voice broke her train of thought. For once, she was thankful. 

"Yes?" 

"We're here." They were standing outside the door to his room. 

"Oh." 

"You can let go now. I'm fine." 

"No!" She said a little too quickly. 'What am I saying!?' "I mean, you look like you're about to collapse at any second. Let me at least help you into bed." 

Keitaro blinked, then smiled softly. "Thanks, Naru. That's really nice of you." 'She seems really nervous.' He blinked again. 'Maybe I should tell her about that dream? I can't believe that I actually recovered some of those old memories.' 

"Keitaro? Keitarooo..." He snapped out of his thoughts to find Naru waving a hand in front of his face. She had a worried look on her face. 

"Yeah?" He managed to say. The medicine was taking full effect now, and he was finding that his actions were beginning to become sluggish and that it was hard to move or think. His eyes felt like lead weights and his body felt like it had balls and chains attached to it. If he fell to the ground at that moment, he wouldn't of cared. 

"You okay? You kind of zoned out for a while." 

"Sorry, just thinking." 

"Don't do that. You had me worried." 

"Huh?" 

"N-never mind!" Naru blushed. ' How could I say something like that! It's a good thing he's so out of it.' 

"Think you could...?" He nodded his head towards the room. 

"Oh! Sure!" Naru again helped Keitaro to move. This time however, she more dragged him than anything else. When they made it to his futon, Keitaro's legs totally gave out. He collapsed onto his futon, bringing Naru along with him. Naru looked up from the floor and bit back a yelp as she saw the awkward position they were in. 

She was straddling his waist with her thighs on either side of him. Her hands were placed on his chest where she could feel him breathing in and out. Keitaro groaned and shifted underneath her, eliciting a response that made the blood rush to her and her heart beat like a jackhammer. 

Keitaro groaned again and opened his eyes. "Sorry, Naru." His muddled brain did not even register where she was and so he went back to his primary directive: make the girls happy. He shifted again, trying to the weight that plagued his body. Naru yelped this time, and quickly rolled off him to the side. Her head wouldn't stop pounding and she had a warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The last time she had nearly felt this way was when she had first seen Seta. 

'But that means...' She mentally slapped herself. 'No! I refuse to believe that I am attracted to this idiot!" 

Keitaro looked at Naru through his blurry vision. Her face was contorted into a mixture of fear, disgust, and...affection? Since when did she ever look at him with affection? His mind was barely able to piece together when a huge yawn wracked through his body, dispelling it like ashes in the wind. But a lingering feeling to touch her stayed. 

He raised his hand and gently placed it against her cheek. Her eyes widened as he gently smiled while rubbing his thumb on her face. "Naru," he said. "Thank you." 

Naru slowly placed her hand on Keitaro's as a comforting warmth spread throughout her body. Her eyes softened, and a smile tugged at her lips as she looked at her landlord before her. "For what, Keitaro?" She whispered. 

"For everything. What you and the girls have done for me, I can never forget. I can only hope I can repay for what you guys did for me, and not screw up anymore. I love all of you so much." 

"Oh, Keitaro..." She closed her eyes and felt the tender ministrations he made to her face. The warm feeling was becoming even stronger now. She had an urge to do nothing but fall on him, to hold him in her arms, to feel his lips upon hers. She blushed slightly at this thought. It didn't seem as bad to her as it used to. 

"Naru, there's something I have to tell you. Before I go to sleep." 

'Oh, no! He's not going to say what I think he's going to say is he!? If he does, I don't know what I'll do!' 

**'Say it back, you idiot!'** Said the other voice. 

"Naru...I...I..." 

"Yes, Keitaro?" Naru gulped. 

"I really think you should smile more. You're really very beautiful when you do." 

Naru let a huge amount of air out of her mouth. "Oh, Keitaro," she giggled. "You silly boy. You silly, silly boy..." She breathed as she leaned over Keitaro closing her eyes 

Keitaro became confused. "Naru?" He whispered. His mind was in total chaos from his cold, the medicine, and now, Naru's strange behavior and actions. 'What is she doing?' He thought. 

"Shh...just..." Naru whispered back. She trailed off as she neared his face. Her lips were a moment from touching his when a scream was heard, reverberating through the dormitory. 

"WHHAATT!?!? SEMPAI!?" 

Keitaro turned his head, and Naru placed a tender kiss on his cheek. She lingered a moment before she realized what had happened. Her head snapped back before Keitaro noticed. He was too busy listening to the commotion going on downstairs. 

"Was that Shinobu?" 

"Semmpaii...!" 

"I guess it was." He felt a tingling on his cheek and put a hand to it. It felt warm and slightly moist to the touch. He looked at Naru who was blushing profusely. "Naru, what was that?" 

"N-nothing." 'I can't believe I did that! What was I thinking!?' She pulled the covers around him and tucked him in. "Go to sleep." 

"Okay," Keitaro smiled. He yawned again. "But I meant that. You really are beautiful, and not just when you smile. I..." But before he could finish, he was carried off into the realms of sleep, a gentle smile adorning his face. 

"Oh, Keitaro..." Naru took Keitaro's hand and put it against her face again as she nuzzled into it. 'You're so sweet..." She looked at him then bent over him again. Her fingers brushed away the bangs covering his face as she planted another kiss on his forehead. She stayed for a moment, taking in his comforting scent before she head back. 

'He really is sweet, isn't he?' 

**'Ha, didn't I tell you so?'**

'Not you again! Go away!' 

**'No. I won't. Not until you admit it.'**

'There's nothing to admit!' 

**'Yes, there is. You. Love. Him.'**

'No...' She thought somewhat hesitantly. '...I don't...' 

**'C'mon! Except for his klutziness and perverted tendencies (which really aren't that bad) he's the perfect man. He's sweet, caring, and would do anything for you. Not to mention he's cute.'**

'No he's not!' Thought Naru vehemently. 

**'Hey! You said yourself you though he was, and I quote, "...pretty cute without his glasses."'**

'Well those eyes of his..." 

**'And you seem to like how he feels against you considering how you reacted towards him when he wasn't even trying.'** It said coyly. 

'Now that...!' 

**'Naru Narusegawa!'** Her other voice shouted at her. Her voice went silent. **'For once, think with your heart and not with your brains, you idiot!'**

'But...' She though. 'But what about Mutsumi?' 

**'Then you better go talk to her shouldn't you?'**

Naru sighed again. Yes, she'd better. She placed Keiatro's hand on his chest as she watched him curl up for warmth. She let out a giggle and pushed herself off of the floor. She walked to the door and slid it open. She stepped outside and spared one last look at Keitaro before she shut the door. 

As she made it down the hall, she wondered what she was going to tell Mutsumi. O Mutsumi, guess I didn't you, but Keitaro's your promise boy. But that's too bad because I really like him and I'm going to steal him away from you. No that wouldn't work. Maybe...Mutsumi, I'm really sorry but I really like Keitaro and even though he's your promise boy, I want him to be mine. No, that wouldn't work either. Argh! What was she going to say? 

As she made her way down the stairs, she came upon a very interesting scene. Kitsune was holding a crying Shinobu while the rest of the girls were all around them. It seemed like Kitsune was trying to comfort her from something. 

"Shinobu! It's all right! It was just a joke!" Kitsune said while rocking a bawling Shinobu back and forth. 

Sarah raise an eyebrow. "Man, this is really affecting her, huh?" 

Kitsune gave her a death glare. "Well maybe she wouldn't of if you hadn't embellished the story!" 

Sarah glared right back. "Embellished? What did I embellish?" 

"Not only did you say that he said he would seduce her, but you also added that they went upstairs so that he could follow through with his threat!" 

Sarah huffed. "Well, isn't that why they went?" 

"I would hope not!" 

They look up to see Naru at the foot of the stairs with her arms crossed in front of her. Her eyes were glaring so hard at Sarah, she withered and mumbled a sorry as she backed away. 

"Naru!" Shinobu cried. She ran over to her and tackled Naru in the stomach. She wrapped her arms around her waist and buried her face into her chest. Shinobu sobbed a little while Naru stroked her hair. She raised her tear-streaked face and asked, "Is it true, Naru? Did semapi really seduce you?" 

"I don't think he would have been able to if he tried. He was so wasted from his cold and the medicine, he basically collapsed in his room." 'But that doesn't mean I didn't try,' she thought sheepishly. 

Shinobu hiccupped and nodded. She buried her face again as she tightened her hold on Naru's waist. 

Naru smiled gently and loosened Shinobu's grip on her before she turned to Mutsumi. "Mutsumi," she said. "Can I talk to you? In private?" 

Mutsumi smiled slightly. "Alright. But about what, Narusegawa?" 

"It concerns..." She glanced at the others nervously. "Liddo-kun." 

Mutsumi tilted her head in confusion before her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh," she said. "Okay, Narusegawa. Where do you want to talk about it?" 

"How about my room?" 

"Okay." Mutsumi nodded and made her way towards the stairs. Naru moved out of Shinobu's hug and quickly followed Mutsumi, stopping at the foot of them. She turned and stared threateningly at Kitsune. 

"And if you even think," she said, pointing a finger at her. "Of eavesdropping on us, I swear I'll use one of the moves I usually reserve for Keitaro." She cracked her knuckles and Kitsune and the rest of them gulped. Naru was scary, that enough was true. It was wise not to anger her. They nodded, Naru flashed a grin, and then she ran up the stairs following Mutsumi. 

***** 

In her room, Naru motioned Mutsumi to sit down. She did so and Naru followed quietly after, taking a seat across the table from Mutsumi. Neither of them talked for a while. Naru nervously twiddled her thumbs while Mutsumi absently stared around the room. Finally, Mutsumi stopped looking around and focused her attention on Naru. "Well, what do you need to say about Urashima?" She asked quite bluntly. 

Naru gulped. "Ahem, well there's a couple of things I need to tell you." 

Mutsumi smiled innocently. "Oh, really? What are they?" 

"Well..." Naru tried to open her mouth and speak, but her mouth was too dry to continue. She tried again. Nothing. God, why was it so hard!? "I don't know how to say this, but...do you remember telling me about that boy from your childhood that you made that promise to go to Tokyo U. together to?" 

"Why yes, Narusegawa," replied Mutsumi dreamily. "I remember him very well, he was my first love after all." 

Somehow, this made it even harder for Naru to continue. "Well, what if I were to say that he was very close to us?" Her heart was starting to feel cracks and tears were threatening to appear in her eyes. 

Mutsumi tilted her head. "What do you mean, Narusegawa?" She asked, clearly confused. 

Naru found it harder to breathe. "I mean that he lives with us." 

"And who would that be?" 

"Mutsumi..." The cracks were becoming jags, the tears were collecting fast, and her breathing was becoming rapid. She was close to an emotional collapse and just start to bawl at any moment. "That person would be...Keitaro." 

"Urashima?" 

Naru did nothing but violently shake her head up and down as she gathered her knees into her chest while she rocked back and forth. Jags were becoming canyons, pools became reservoirs, and breathing was almost non-existent. Gasps were escaping from her as she willed herself not to cry. She would not cry. She would not cry. 

"But how?" Mutsumi's face was a mixture of fear, sadness, and hope. 

"The...picture...from...last night." Naru was able to gasp out. 

"Okay." Mutsumi leaned forward. Her face was etched with worry and anticipation. "And what was the other thing?" 

"I...I..." 

**'C'mon, girl! Say it! Say it!'** Her inner voice cried. 

"I think...I...think...I..." 

**'Naru...don't you dare chicken out on me, you idiot!'**

"No...I do...I love him! I love Keitaro!" 

Her heart shattered, the dams flooded open, and her lungs became a vacuum. She hid her head inside of her knees and tears streamed down her face. She cried. Naru, the first0time ronin and strong-willed, hard-headed girl of the Hinata honeys cried. She cried, and cries, and cried. She cried until her tears ran dry. An all the time, Mutsumi just sat there and watched with a sad look on her face. 

She watched one of the strongest people she knew break down into a little baby. She saw her rock back and forth on her heels as she bawled. Finally, her heart couldn't take it anymore. She moved over the room to Naru and enveloped her in a motherly hug. She softly rocked her back and forth, cooing soft words of comfort until the girl's heart-wracking sobs became small hiccups and sniffles. 

Eventually, Naru raised her head and looked apologetically at Mutsumi. "God, I am so sorry so, Mutsumi." She gasped out. 

Mutsumi was a little taken back. "What ever for, Narusegawa?" She quipped. 

Naru closed her eyes and sniffled sadly. "He's been your forever and I had to go and fall in love with him like the idiot I am!" She buried her face back into the older girl's shoulder and sobbed some more. 

Mutsumi smiled while rubbing her hand up and down the younger girl's back. "It's okay, Naru," she said quietly. Naru stopped hiccupping when she heard Mutsumi drop the honorific on her name. What was she going to do? "You can't help falling in love. It's a fact of life." She sighed and looked up. "Well, I guess it's been decided." 

Naru looked up from her shoulder. "What's been decided?" 

"At who gets Liddo-kun," Mutsumi smirked at their little joke. 

Naru nodded sadly. "Yeah," she agreed forlornly. "It's you, isn't it?" 

Mutsumi sighed. "I'm not so sure." 

Naru's eyes widened at this statement. "What do you mean?" 

"Naru," she smiled. "When I first met you and Urashima, it was obvious that he like you." Naru gasped silently. Did he really like her from that long ago? "Especially after the fact that he told me his feelings for you. Unfortunately, I got a little tipsy and the my way to tell you didn't go exactly as planned." 

Naru flinched. She remembered the 'bathroom incident.' After Mutsumi's klutziness, both natural and by her intoxicated state, left her and Naru in an odd position (think the basic man's finest fantasy), Naru was already rather miffed. Alright, she was pissed at finding first-hand the female clone of Keitaro. Then Keitaro came rushing in because of the yells of surprise and giant crash, finding them in their risqué state. He then did what any other hot-blooded male would if he came upon a scene like that. He had a nosebleed. Shortly after, he encountered one of Naru's super attacks and was flung from the room. 

"And when I came back," Mutsumi continued. "It was somewhat obvious that he was already in love with you. I could tell that you like him too, considering how jealous you got when I made any advances on him what-so-ever. 

"But..." Naru hiccupped. "You're his promise girl." 

"Naru..." Mutsumi sighed. "I might hold his memories, but you have held his heart long before I came back onto the scene. Now I would anything to have Urashima as my boyfriend, but it's pretty clear to me that I never will. I think I'll be happy enough to just be one of his best friends, and make it into Tokyo U. with him and you. But you are the one that will have him...and that's all that matters." 

Naru looked at the slightly crying girl and flung her arms around her neck. Mutsumi did the same and they held each other dearly. "Mutsumi," whispered Naru. "Thank you. Thank you so much." 

Mutsumi sniffled. "You're welcome, Naru. Besides..." Mutsumi waved a hand to wipe a tear that was threatening to fall from her eye. "I always thought that you two made a cute couple." Naru giggled. 

"Me and that pervert? You've got to be kidding me." She shook her head. "No, that's not true..." 'He's Keitaro. **My** Keitaro.' She smiled gently and softly. But then another problem came up that rocked her back to reality. "But wait! How am I supposed to tell him?" 

Mutsumi smiled. "It's easy. Just tell him." A wicked smile flashed across her face before it melted back into her innocent one. "And I'll make sure no one interrupts your confession." 

"How?" 

"That's for me to know, and for you to wait here and find out." 

***** 

Naru was still waiting for Mutsumi when the aforementioned popped her head back into her room. "I got them all out," she said." 

"How?" 

Mutsumi grinned evilly. "I said I'd take them to a karaoke bar and pay for all of the expenses. Since that included drinks, Kitsune literally dragged them off." 

Naru was shocked. "But Mutsumi, considering that it's Kitsune. Won't it be expensive?" 

"It's okay," Mutsumi said. "I had Su print up some money for me, (A/N: Isn't that illegal?) so I think I'm good to go. But now it's time for you to shine. Go for it!" She gave a thumbs up and slid the door shut before Naru could respond. 

'Mutsumi.' She smirked. She then shook her head and moved to the hole connecting her room to Keitaro's. She lifted Liddo-kun and the plyboard covering it, and peeked into Keitaro's room. "Keitaro?" She called down. "Are you awake?" Receiving no answer, she jumped down to his floor and made her way over to his futon. 

She sat next to his sleeping form and took his hand in hers. She put it to her face and gently nuzzled into it like she had before. A smile flitted across Keitaro's face and she followed en suite. "Oh, Keitaro..." She sighed. "I wish you were awake so I could tell you how I can feel. The last time I felt this way was with Seta, but it wasn't nearly this strong. 

"These feelings...I don't know whether they're love or not, part of me wishes they were. Because if I could love you and you for me in return, I would be so happy." She finished her speech as she put his palm to her lips and planted a kiss to it. 

Keitaro opened one of his eyes. Naru's head snapped back and she dropped his hand. "My, Naru," he smirked. "I never knew you held such feelings for me. Frankly, I'm surprised." Naru just watched in shock as Keitaro sat himself up, supporting his weight on his hands behind his back. 

"H-h-how long have you been awake?" She stuttered. 

Keitaro let out a chuckle. "A little while before you came in." 

"Then why didn't you answer me?" 

"Wanted to see what you'd do," he shrugged. 

"You...jerk!" Naru made as if she was going to leave, but before she could, Keitaro shot his hand out and grasped her chin in it. He pulled her a little closer, then gently cupped her face as he slid his thumb along her bottom lip. "Naru..." He murmured. "Don't you dare run away. At least not until you hear what I have to say." 

Naru closed her eyes as she felt Keitaro's tender ministrations on her face. The warm feeling was back again, and stronger than before. She nodded silently, and whimpered softly as she felt the warmth from his hand leave her face. She opened her eyes to see Keitaro looking at her. His warm, brown eyes and smile projected such caring that she couldn't help it as a single tear fell down her cheek. 

"Naru..." He so wanted to take the pain way, to make sure that she never had to feel pain ever again. Of course he wanted the same for all of the girls, but Naru was a special case. He just wanted to protect her from the world and let none of its problems get to her. He just wanted to hold her, and be with her. But that could wait until after he told her. "Look," he whispered. "I made you cry again. I'm sorry." He took his arm cuff into his hand and softly wiped her tear from her eye and cheek. 

As he began to withdraw his hand, it was stopped by Naru as she grabbed it, putting it to her face and rubbing against it. "No..." She whispered back. "Please don't. Just...let me have this one thing. Just let me feel your touch." 

"Naru..." He smiled. "Okay." Yes, this would be the moment he would tell her. "Naru...there's something I need to tell you about my past, about our past. When I had my dream, I found my promise girl." Naru's heart beat faster, but with sadness. "But it turns out I didn't have a promise girl." Her eyes widened. He continues, "I had two." 

Her eyes widened even more. She began to speak, but was stopped when he put his thumb to her lips. "Shhh, it's okay," he said. "They were two of my best childhood friends. They were both very dear to me. Their names were Na-chan and Mu-chan, and to them, I was Kei-kun. Mu-chan was a little older than me, and she was a very energetic girl. She always used to carry a Liddo-kun around with her wherever she went. 

"Na-chan was only about two years old. She was also very energetic, but unfortunately she used to get sick all of the time." Naru let out a silent gasp. She had a strange disease that always made her sick when she was a little girl. Was she...? "She couldn't talk that much either, and so me and Mu-chan were always trying to get her to say things. 

"We all met at Hinata House. We used to play here all of the time, especially down in the sandbox. That's where I heard about the Tokyo U. promise. Turns out that Na-chan's parents got married there, and Mu-chan was the one who gave the details on the promise. But it was to Na-chan that I made the promise to. Mu-chan even gave me her Liddo-kun to give to Na-chan as a sort of engagement present." Naru tightened her grip on Keitaro's hand. Her eyes were shining with fear and anticipation. 

Keitaro smiled and took Naru's face into both of his hands. He slowly pulled her face closer to his until their noses were touching. "Naru," he breathed. She giggled quietly as his breath tickled her face. "I believe that N-chan was you. I think that my promise girl is you from those memories I obtained. But that doesn't matter to me anymore." Naru's eyes began to tear. He didn't want her to be his promise girl? But didn't that mean that...? Her thoughts were cut short as he firmly pressed her forehead against hers. He took his hands off her face and moved them to her hands in her lap. 

He took one of each of his and deftly interlaced his fingers into hers. He raised the hands to eye level and said, "Naru, do you know why I'm doing this?" She shook her head silently. "Last night, you told me I had to decide who I wanted to hold hands with. You or Mutsumi. Or, more importantly, you or the promise girl." He stared into her eyes as he leaned closer, his breath mingling with hers. 

"Now that you're both, I wanted you to know something. My promise girl is nothing but memories, but you Naru, you are real. I want you for you, not the little girl you were, And so I've come to a decision. I'm sorry promise girl, but I want to hold Naru's hand. 

"Naru, I love you." 

An with that, he pressed his lips to Naru's. Naru gasped at first, but quickly closed her eyes as she fell into the moment. Her arms went around Keitaro's neck as one of his went around her back to push her closer to him. They both tilted their heads so as to deepen the kiss. 

Naru felt Keitaro's tongue grace across her bottom lip, asking for permission into her mouth. She obliged quite willingly, parting her lips slightly as his tongue entered her mouth to meet hers. She could taste him, and she relished the sweetness as she opened her mouth even more. 

Keitaro took the opportunity to memorize how the inside of her mouth felt. He moved his tongue around the contours of her teeth to feel how they went before going back to dance with her own tongue. He leaned back to lie on his futon and Naru followed to lie on top of him. She moved and straddled him once again. Keitaro smiled into her lips and put his other arm around her to crush her body to his. 

Naru clung to him desperately to him, and let one tear to fall from her eyes down her cheek and into their kiss. Keitaro could taste the saltiness that entered his mouth. Finally, after an eternity passed, Keitaro loosened his grip and leaned his head back, breaking the kiss. Naru smiled and pressed her forehead on his as he did before. Keitaro saw the wetness on her cheek and leaned up to kiss away the tear's trail. 

As he did this, Naru moved to his ear and blew on it. He shivered from the pleasurable feeling, and she giggled. "Kei-ta-ro..." She cooed. "I love you, too." 

Keitaro cupped her chin and forced her a little away to look at her. He smirked. "I'm happy to hear that," he said as he pulled her down to capture her lips with his again. 

***The End*** 

A/N: My...God... I'm finally done! I finally finished my very first fanfiction. I am so fricking happy! And I got so many good reviews! Thank you so much to all of my reviewers! And now, to the characters! 

_ Naru and Keitaro are off in the corner of the room cuddling. Meanwhile the rest of the Hinata crew, me, and gloworm16 are watching with mixed feelings._

Motoko: _(looks disgusted)_ Sickening... 

gloworm16: Know how you feel. Geeze, can't they do that somewhere? 

Me: You have no reason to say anything like that Glowy. I know how you are. You're like the loosest sixteen-year-old male I know of. 

gloworm16: _(sweatdrops)_ So? 

Kitsune: Oh, c'mon, leave them alone. They've gone through a lot of crap. Let them have this one thing. 

Me: _(bows)_ Thank you, Kitsune! 

Sarah: Yeah... _(looks at the two)_ But did you have to make it so... sappy? 

Me: I can't help it! _(sobs)_ I'm a hopeless romantic! It doesn't help that at this point in my life my body is totally driven by uncontrollable hormones! _(shakes fist angrily)_ Damn you, you fucking hormones! 

_Everyone around me facefaults. Even Keitaro and Naru look up long enough to sweatdrop at my sudden outburst. I sweatdrop at myself._

Me: Oops... 

Shinobu: Yamiga cursed! 

Me: Umm... heh. Whoops? _(looks around at the shocked faces)_ My bad? _(looks around again)_ Hey, where's Su? I don't see her anywhere. 

Su: _(pops up behind me)_ Right here, Yamiga! 

Me: Ack! _(puts hand to chest)_ Su! Don't do that! 

Su: Sorry, Yamiga! _(gets glint in eyes)_

Me: _(gulps)_ Aw, crap, Su. Not here... 

_Too late. Su jumps on and gives me one of her famous glomps. Everyone stares as she continues to squeeze harder. Motoko begins to look angry as Sarah, Shinobu, Kitsune, and gloworm16 get rather amused looks on their faces._

Me: Su...please let go or Motoko's going to kill me. 

Motoko: _(growls)_ Yamiga... 

Su: Nuh-uh, Yamiga! I like you! 

Me: _(gulps)_ But Su, you like everyone. 

Su: _(giggles)_ No, I mean I really, really like you... 

Me: Umm, okay... 

_Su giggles again and rubs her face against mine. Meanwhile, everyone has the weirdest look on their faces as Su continues to cling to my body._

Me: Well... _(motions for everyone to come over; they do so and everyone lines up)_ I'd like to thank the entire Hinata cast for helping me, but not so much for Glowy because all he did was sit back and complain. 

gloworm16: Hey! 

Me: Shut up. _(glares; gloworm16 backs away)_ Anyway, thank you everyone, my reviewers, the characters, my parents, and the many classmates who said I had wayyyy too much time on hands to write such a story. Thank you all. I already have a sequel lined up, and I will try to get it up and soon as possible. _(grins at Hinata crew)_ I still have many adventures for you guys to do, so don't worry. And now... 

Everyone: THANK YOU EVERYONE AND PLEASE REVIEW!!!! 

A/N: Yes, I do have part of the sequel done. Just to tell you, it has the same plotline as the manga, but alters from it because Naru and Keitaro confess their love so early in the series. Just to warn you, there are limes and I'm wondering if I should put a lemon in too. I do want to, but I don't want to ruin the integrity of the story. So tell me if I should or shouldn't. I can go either way, and I just want to have the opinions of my reviewers before I do anything. Okay? Thanks. Please Review, and remember, no flames! 


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